Germany: Family found dead at home with elevated gas levels

BERLIN – A family of four has been found dead in southwestern Germany, and police say their house had elevated carbon monoxide levels.

Police in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, were alerted on Monday by a relative who got no response when he rang and knocked on the door, and then saw two people lying on the floor through a window.

Fire officers found the bodies of a man and woman, both 29, their 3-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son inside.

Esslingen police say the high carbon monoxide levels in the house indicate poisoning from the gas likely killed the family. They say the deaths are being investigated as accidental.