Turkish family found dead in Germany

German police launched a murder investigation yesterday after a Turkish family of five was found stabbed to death in their home, a spokesman said.

A family friend with a key to the house in Augsburg, southern Germany, alerted police after finding the blood-soaked bodies of a seven-year-old girl, two men and two women.

The corpses all lay in different rooms including the cellar and the attic.

"They were all stabbed to death," a police spokesman said. "We can't rule out that this was a family dispute." Police were seeking a man who had separated from one of the women. "We would like him to help us with our enquiries," the spokesman said.