Swiss police are currently investigating an incident that left four people dead and one badly injured. A group of five individuals are said to have jumped from a seven-storey building in the lakeside city of Montreux.
The group jumped moments after police officers tried to execute an arrest warrant in connection with the home-schooling of a child, it was reported.
However, police said that the authorities have opened an investigation “to determine the exact circumstances and reasons for this tragedy”.
Officers said the victims in the incident which occurred on Thursday, March 24, were all French citizens and members of the same family.
In a statement, police identified the fatalities as a 40-year-old man, his 41-year-old wife, her twin sister and the couple’s eight-year-old daughter.
The force added the couple’s 15-year-old son was seriously injured and hospitalised.
He is said to be in a serious condition.
A regional police spokesperson, Alexandre Bisenz, told The Associated Press news agency that the group were found at around 7am (06:00 GMT) on Thursday outside a building near the city’s famed Casino Barriere.
The investigation has seen forensic teams examining the balcony of the seventh-floor apartment where they jumped from.
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Mr Rouiller also said there had been a strong smell of incense coming from the family’s apartment for the past few days.
Another resident, who lives on the first floor of the apartment building, said they heard a “thud” at around 7am on Thursday morning.
The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said he went outside to investigate and saw five bodies.
He said: “I thought it was a bad film, I couldn’t fix the image for more than a few seconds”.
In their statement, police said two officers had knocked on the door of an apartment and identified themselves.
They said: “Unable to make contact with the possible occupants, they left the place.
“In the meantime, a witness called the police to report that people had fallen from the balcony of an apartment.”
Police spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel told the RTS public broadcaster: “We do not know yet whether they fell or if this drama was due to other circumstances.”
Montreux is best known as a tourist hotspot and for its annual jazz festival.
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