Kochi | Five persons, including three children, were found dead at a rented house here on Saturday, police said.

According to police, the deceased consisted of two women and three children who were from Thiruvananthapuram and had been staying in a rented house in Vaduthala here for the past few months for treatment at a private hospital nearby.

Police said the women were identified as Kanakalatha and her daughter Aswathy.

While the three others are Aswathy's children.

Officials at the Ernakulam North Police Station said the family had not been seen outside their house since Friday, following which the house owner checked the premises and found all five dead.

Police said an investigation has been launched and efforts are underway to confirm further details.

They suspect the elders could have killed children before ending their own lives.

Police teams are trying to contact the relatives of the deceased and initiate inquest proceedings.

A case will be registered at the Ernakulam North Police Station after a preliminary probe, police added.