4 individuals, apparently members of the identical household, died after falling from the balcony of their seventh-floor residence in Montreux, western Switzerland, on Thursday, the police stated in an announcement. A fifth individual, a teenage boy, who additionally fell from the balcony, was hospitalized in critical situation, they stated.
The 5 individuals haven’t been formally recognized, however the police stated they had been believed to be members of a household of French nationals: a 40-year-old man, his 41-year-old spouse, her twin sister, and the couple’s 8-year-old daughter, together with the only survivor, the couple’s 15-year-old son.
Alexandre Bisenz, a spokesman for the Vaud canton police, stated that it was doubtless that the individuals had jumped from the balcony. The police are attempting to find out the precise circumstances and causes of the incident, they usually stated that they had dominated out the presence of different individuals within the residence on the time.
In keeping with a preliminary investigation, the police stated, two cops knocked on the door of the household’s residence on Thursday morning at about 7 a.m. at hand a summons to the daddy in reference to the home-schooling of one of many kids.
The cops heard a voice coming from the residence asking them to establish themselves. After they did so, the officers didn’t hear any additional sounds coming from the residence, they usually ready to go away the constructing.
They had been nonetheless within the constructing when a witness known as the police to say that some individuals had fallen from a balcony, stated Jean-Christophe Sauterel, the police spokesman in Vaud, the canton the place Montreux is located. Montreux, a Swiss resort on Lake Geneva, is a vacationer sizzling spot well-known for its jazz pageant.
Michelle Steiger, 72, a neighbor, stated the household concerned within the episode was very discreet and that the residential constructing was inhabited by many households with kids.
Mr. Sauterel stated the native authorities often ship the police to go to people who fail to reply to repeated written summons. He stated that one of many kids residing within the residence was being home-schooled, which is authorized in Switzerland, however requires routine checks on the method. When mother and father don’t reply to solicitations for these checks, they are often summoned by the police, he stated.