Racism Suspected As Fire Kills 3 Turks

Anti-foreigner sentiment is suspected in an arson attack that killed a Turkish woman and two of her teenage children and seriously injured her twin daughters.

The fire occurred in Krefeld, a city 25 miles from Solingen, site of a 1993 firebombing that killed two Turkish women and three children in Germany’s deadliest racist attack since the Nazi era.

The 41-year-old woman and her 19-year-old daughter died early Monday after tossing a mattress to the ground to try to break their fall and then jumping from a third-story window to escape the flames.

The woman’s 17-year-old son was found dead inside the family’s apartment, and her 15-year-old twin daughters were hospitalized in serious condition after jumping to the ground.

Police said they are seeking evidence to determine whether the fire was set because the family was from Turkey.

Investigators found accelerants on both sides of the apartment door leading to the hallway.