<p>Three children were among 11 people killed in a fire Saturday at an apartment block in the Czech Republic that police believe was set deliberately.</p>.<p>Police said one person was detained in connection with the blaze that saw five people jump to their deaths in the eastern city of Bohumin near the Polish border.</p>.<p>Regional police chief Tomas Kuzel told public Czech Television that police suspected arson was the cause and that they had detained one person in the case.</p>.<p>"I think we are good when it comes to the culprit," Kuzel said without specifying whether the detained person would be charged with arson.</p>.<p>He likened the fire to a case in 2013 when a man caused a gas explosion and fire that killed three children and two other people as well as himself. He reportedly hated his fellow tenants.</p>.<p>"It's similar," Kuzel said of the conflagration seven years ago in the eastern Czech town of Frenstat. "The culprit there also basically liquidated a block of flats and left many people dead."</p>.<p>Lukas Popp, a spokesman for local firefighters, told AFP the fire had broken out on the 11th floor of the concrete block of flats in Bohumin on the Czech-Polish border, some 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of the capital Prague.</p>.<p>"Six people died on this floor, including three children and three adults -- and a dog," he added.</p>.<p>"Our firefighters were on the site really fast but during the action, five people jumped out of the 12th-storey window and died," said Popp.</p>.<p>Regional fire squad head Vladimir Vlcek told Czech Television he did not want to speculate about the causes of the fire for the moment.</p>.<p>"But the fire was very quick to develop, which is not normal. A fire like that typically affects one room, but this one hit the entire flat, all the rooms are burnt down," he said.</p>.<p>Vlcek added it was not clear why the five people had jumped out of the window when their flat was not yet hit by the blaze.</p>.<p>"All we would have needed was dozens of seconds to inflate the jumping cushion and the impact would not have been so tragic," he said.</p>.<p>Regional governor Ivo Vondrak said that besides the victims, thirteen people were injured in the fire, including two firefighters and one police officer.</p>.<p>"The fire alarm was declared at 17:49 (1549 GMT) and the firefighters were on the site at 17:54," Vondrak added.</p>.<p>Popp said the fire had been localised and investigators were looking into the causes of the deadly blaze.</p>.<p>Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek described the fire as "a huge tragedy" in a tweet.</p>.<p>"My deepest condolences to the bereaved," he said.</p>
<p>Three children were among 11 people killed in a fire Saturday at an apartment block in the Czech Republic that police believe was set deliberately.</p>.<p>Police said one person was detained in connection with the blaze that saw five people jump to their deaths in the eastern city of Bohumin near the Polish border.</p>.<p>Regional police chief Tomas Kuzel told public Czech Television that police suspected arson was the cause and that they had detained one person in the case.</p>.<p>"I think we are good when it comes to the culprit," Kuzel said without specifying whether the detained person would be charged with arson.</p>.<p>He likened the fire to a case in 2013 when a man caused a gas explosion and fire that killed three children and two other people as well as himself. He reportedly hated his fellow tenants.</p>.<p>"It's similar," Kuzel said of the conflagration seven years ago in the eastern Czech town of Frenstat. "The culprit there also basically liquidated a block of flats and left many people dead."</p>.<p>Lukas Popp, a spokesman for local firefighters, told AFP the fire had broken out on the 11th floor of the concrete block of flats in Bohumin on the Czech-Polish border, some 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of the capital Prague.</p>.<p>"Six people died on this floor, including three children and three adults -- and a dog," he added.</p>.<p>"Our firefighters were on the site really fast but during the action, five people jumped out of the 12th-storey window and died," said Popp.</p>.<p>Regional fire squad head Vladimir Vlcek told Czech Television he did not want to speculate about the causes of the fire for the moment.</p>.<p>"But the fire was very quick to develop, which is not normal. A fire like that typically affects one room, but this one hit the entire flat, all the rooms are burnt down," he said.</p>.<p>Vlcek added it was not clear why the five people had jumped out of the window when their flat was not yet hit by the blaze.</p>.<p>"All we would have needed was dozens of seconds to inflate the jumping cushion and the impact would not have been so tragic," he said.</p>.<p>Regional governor Ivo Vondrak said that besides the victims, thirteen people were injured in the fire, including two firefighters and one police officer.</p>.<p>"The fire alarm was declared at 17:49 (1549 GMT) and the firefighters were on the site at 17:54," Vondrak added.</p>.<p>Popp said the fire had been localised and investigators were looking into the causes of the deadly blaze.</p>.<p>Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek described the fire as "a huge tragedy" in a tweet.</p>.<p>"My deepest condolences to the bereaved," he said.</p>