Cleveland Police said two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
A child is one of two people who died in a house fire less than a mile from the site of a crash on the A66 which killed seven people, police have said as they confirmed two people have been arrested.
Cleveland Police said two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and they remain in police custody following the blaze at an end-of-terrace property in Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, near Middlesbrough.
In a statement, the force said officers were called to the property at 5:23am on Wednesday and confirmed two people had died, “including one child”.
It said they have yet to be formally identified.
The force said that a 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.
Three other people suffered injuries which are believed to be non life-threatening.
The force would not rule out a link between the blaze and the crash which killed two police officers and five young men.
