Manhunt in Germany after three bodies found

A manhunt is under way after three bodies were found in a residential building in a village in western Germany.

The suspect fled when officers arrived at the scene in Weitefeld, Westerwald, and is on the run, a police spokesperson told the German Press Agency.

The victims were a family, police said, and include a 47-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy.

Police advised residents in the surrounding area to stay at home, and warned people not to pick up hitchhikers, local media reported.

German outlet Bild reported that a special task force was on site and a police helicopter is being used.

Weitefeld, which has a population of about 2,200, was cordoned off and vehicles entering and leaving are being checked.

The search will continue until the suspect is apprehended, including through the night, police said.

A police spokesperson told Bild that an emergency call came at 3:45am local time (2.45am BST).

Weitefeld's mayor Karl-Heinz Kessler said he could never "have imagined such an act" in his small community.

"You know the people here in the village," he told Der Spiegel.

He added that the victims and the suspect were long-standing residents.