Four members of a family have died after jumping from the seventh floor of a building in an apparent attempt to escape from police. A 15-year-old boy is seriously injured after also leaping from the block of flats in Montreux, western Switzerland.
Local authorities say the incident happened as police officers arrived at the flat on Thursday in relation to a home schooling issue.
Police were leaving the scene after hearing no reply to their request to speak to the father. A witness then reported seeing five people lying on the ground outside the building.
The 40-year-old father and mother, their eight-year-old daughter and the mother’s twin sister died. The bodies were found on the ground without shoes.
The 15-year-old son is being treated in hospital.
The family had arrived in Montreux from France about two years ago, it was revealed.
The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the incident.
Police in canton Vaud, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, say they do not believe that any other party was involved.
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