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PARIS (AP) \u2014 Four people were killed in an \u201cextremely violent\u201d blaze \u2014 seemingly caused by a battery-powered electric scooter \u2014 that tore through a 10-story housing block in northeast France, authorities said Saturday.<\/p>\n
A 13-year-old jumped to his death from the 4th-floor apartment in Reims where the fire started in the early hours of Friday and a burned body found inside is believed to be that of his older brother, aged 15, said prosecutor Fran\u00e7ois Schneider.<\/p>\n
An 87-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son who lived on the 8th floor suffocated to death in the smoke, he said.<\/p>\n
Two people were seriously injured, including the dead boys’ stepfather who was badly burned, and 26 others were treated in hospital for lighter injuries, he said.<\/p>\n
Schneider said there is \u201cno doubt\u201d that the blaze was accidental, spreading quickly from the scooter that caught fire for reasons unknown.<\/p>\n
Battery fires \u201care extremely difficult to extinguish\u201d and fire officers battled the blaze for more than three hours, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n