Gardai are treating as suspicious the deaths of a woman and a man after a fire broke out in their apartment on North King Street, Dublin, early yesterday morning. The couple in their mid-twenties who were renting the apartment were believed to have been of Asian origin, Supt Gerry Blake of the Bridewell Garda station said.
There was no evidence the fire was started because of a racist motivation, he added.
The blaze broke out about 1 a.m. on the ground floor in Block A of Blackhall Square Apartments and neighbours tried unsuccessfully to break down the door.
Supt Blake was unable to confirm there was an explosion before the fire broke out. "We have had a number of witnesses who came forward and said they heard noise and other people who said they heard nothing," he said.
Gardai have also not ruled out reports that an individual was seen leaving the apartment block. "There was quite a lot of activity in the area at the time," Supt Blake added.
Ms Erika Reeves, who lives in a ground-floor apartment close to where the fire started, said she came out of her apartment when the fire alarm went off.
Smoke was billowing out of the apartment and when the fire brigade arrived neighbours were pushed out into a courtyard at the back of the block, she said.
"The fire brigade were brilliant - they were out here in seconds and so was the ambulance," Ms Reeves said.
Residents directly above the apartment said they were evacuated but people in other connecting blocks were not. Electricity rather than gas was used in the apartments, according to residents.
The wall at the back of the apartment where the fire broke out was blackened by smoke, and glass in one window was completely blown out. A chair, books, broken glass and other debris lay under the window and the area was sealed off by gardai.
Mr Aidan O'Brien, a resident, said windows facing the apartment in the courtyard were also damaged.
Gardai from the Bridewell Garda station and the technical bureau were at the scene yesterday morning.
The assistant State pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, arrived at the apartment in the afternoon. A post-mortem was carried out yesterday evening.