Finnish police arrest man after fatal takeaway blaze

Police in Tampere, Finland, have arrested one man in connection with a city centre fire that killed three people. According to forensic evidence, the fire, which started in the morning of Monday22nd November at a fast food restaurant, was intentionally set.

Two people where witnessed leaving the scene but police have declined to confirm whether the man they detained on Tuesday is thought to be one of them. Two figures dressed in dark clothes were seen running from the area towards the Kyttala region shortly after the fire began.

Three people died and another four were hospitalised after the blaze spread through the foreign-owned kebab-pizzeria take away. The fire is being investigated as four cases of battery, three of first degree manslaughter and one of aggravated arson.

Police have not ruled out the theory that the fire may have been a direct attack against immigrants, but said there is currently no evidence to support this. They are seeking witness reports from anyone who was in the area at around 5:25 am when the fire started.

One elderly woman remains in intensive care but her condition is said to be stable. The bodies of a woman and two men, all in their late twenties, were found in the stairwells of the building.