A 13-year-old jumped to his death from the 4th floor apartment where the fire started  Friday and a burned body found inside is believed to be that of his older brother, aged 15, said Reims prosecutor François Schneider. 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.

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. Schneider said there is “no doubt” that the blaze was accidental, spreading quickly from the scooter that caught fire for reasons unknown. Battery fires “are extremely difficult to extinguish” and fire officers battled the blaze for more than three hours, the prosecutor said.  (CNN)