A fire has killed 10 members of the same family, including five children, at a home in Peru's capital Lima, police said. The blaze ripped through the property in the southern La Victoria district early on Wednesday.

Gen Oscar Arriola from the Peruvian National Police told local media that the victims included five children aged between three and 15, four adults aged between 29 and 72, and a fifth whose age was not given. Two people were also reportedly injured.

Police are investigating reports that the fire was started by arsonists. Local media say the family, who manufactured mattresses and owned electric motorcycles, had received threats and demands for extortion payments. Neighbors said unknown individuals set fire to motorcycles parked outside, with flames spreading rapidly through flammable mattress-making materials.

Seventeen family members were in the building when the fire started at 03:00 local time, but seven managed to escape. Arriola said their bodies were burned beyond recognition. The National Police of Peru stated: "Today, all of Peru falls silent in the face of a tragedy that plunges our nation into mourning."

Source: www.bbc.co.uk