PRAGUE: Czech police on Monday charged a man with murder after an apartment block fire killed 11 people, including three children, a state prosecutor told AFP.

The suspect was detained shortly after the blaze in the northeastern Czech city of Bohumin, 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Prague.

Regional prosecutor Michal Krol said the man faced a possible life sentence.

The prosecutor will now decide whether to take him into custody.

Six people died in the 11th-storey tower while another five jumped to their deaths trying to escape the flames.

Police suspected arson from the beginning, and on Sunday they said they had found traces of a flammable substance near an apartment door.

Ten people including two firefighters and a police officer, were also injured. Four are still in hospital, two in a very serious condition.

Czech media said the man set the fire following family disputes and that several of the victims were his relatives.

The family that died in the fire was reportedly holding a birthday party attended by their neighbours' children.