Eleven die in fire in Czech Republic tower block

Police in the Czech Republic are investigating a fire that killed 11 people, including three children.

Saturday’s blaze, in an apartment block in the northeastern city of Bohumin, has been described as the worst fire in the country’s history.

Six people died in the fire and another five were killed after jumping from a balcony on the 11th floor in an attempt to escape the flames.

Ten people, including two firefighters and a police officer, were injured.

Bohumin is located on the Czech-Polish border, about 300 km (190 miles) east of the capital, Prague.

The governor of the Moravia-Silesian region Ivo Vondrak said the fire appeared to have started deliberately.

According to witness reports, a man was handcuffed at the scene after calmly admitting to police that he started the fire.

Police declined to comment on these claims, but they have confirmed that one person was arrested.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek later told Czech Radio that what he called “an enormous tragedy” turned out to be the culmination of a long-running conflict between neighbors.

Regional firefighter Vladimir Vlcek told Czech television that the blaze spread very quickly.

“The fire was developing very quickly, which is not normal. A fire like that typically affects one room, but this one hit the whole flat, all the rooms were burnt down,”