A mother and her six-year-old son were found dead on Tuesday after a fire burnt down their home in Montreuil-Le-Gast, western France, local media reported.

Citing police sources, local broadcaster Europe 1 said a 34-year old woman and her child died after a fire broke out at their home at 06:00 local time (0400 GMT) on Tuesday.

The father and two other children of the family survived but suffered from asphyxiation, the report added.

According to preliminary investigations, a defective water heater could have caused the fire. Police authorities are still investigating the case.