Two dead after jumping from burning building in Berlin

Berlin: Two people jumped to their deaths from an apartment in a building in Berlin on Friday trying to escape a fire, the fire department said.

The pair "jumped out of the window very, very quickly,” and died at the scene despite efforts to revive them, fire service spokesperson James Klein said.

Another person was slightly injured but  rescued via a staircase.

The fire broke out on the 12th floor of a 15-storey apartment block in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

As emergency responders arrived the two people were still alive and reportedly called for help.

A witness who lives on the first floor of the building recounted the incident and said that the woman jumped first, and the man had initially clung to the balcony.

But he let go before the firefighters could fully open the safety air cushion meant to catch him.

"It takes a lot that you actually jump from a twelve-storey building. There was probably already a very strong heat from behind." Klein said.

Firefighters tried to resuscitate them following their fall but they died on the scene.

It is not yet clear what caused the fire.