Children die in 'suspicious' explosion

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The death of three children discovered following a suspected gas explosion at an apartment in the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh is being investigated as suspicious, police said.

Their mother, who apparently fell from one of the building's upper stories, remains in serious but stable condition.

British media say the family was locked in a bitter custody battle which pit the mother, 46-year-old Theresa Riggi, against her husband Pasquale, also 46.

Theresa and her children - eight-year-old twins Augustino and Gianluca Riggi and their five-year-old sister Cecilia - had been reported missing in the month preceding the blast, and Scotland's Press and Journal said a judge had issued an order barring the family from leaving the country.

Detective Superintendent Allan Jones of Lothian and Borders Police said the Riggis had ties to California and Colorado, although he didn't specify which part of the family came from where.

Police added that they had interviewed the husband but that he was not a suspect.

The Denver Post reported Thursday that Pasquale Riggi grew up in the west Denver suburb of Lakewood and graduated from Regis Jesuit High School in 1982.

The school "is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic situation involving our alumnus Pasquale Riggi", Regis said in a statement.

Floral tributes were left close to the scene of the explosion.

One card - tied to a bunch of flowers and a yellow teddy bear - said: "With sympathy."

A spokeswoman for Scotland's Judicial Communications Office said that Pasquale Riggi and his wife had been due to attend a court hearing on Friday.

- AP