A woman and a child died after a fire caused by an explosion in a bakery broke out in a two-story building in the eastern French city of Lyon, local media reported on Sunday.

"Two bodies have been found, a woman and a child," Lyon prosecutor Nicolas Jacquet said, according to the news agency AFP.

Another four people suffered minor injuries.

The fire broke out after an explosion in a bakery on the ground floor of the building, broadcaster Franceinfo reported, citing the local prefecture.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire, with investigators not ruling out a possible criminal motive.

"It was the father who reported that the mother and child were in the first story while he was brought to the hospital," the deputy mayor of Lyon, Jean-Yves Secheresse, told Franceinfo.

One of those who was injured jumped from the second floor, encouraged by neighbors who caught him, AFP reported.

The man told witnesses that his pregnant wife and child were still inside, suggesting that he was the husband of the woman and the father of the child who died, the news agency said.

Initial investigations have shown that the explosion may have been intentional, Franceinfo reported, citing state prosecutors.

Last month, an explosion at a bakery in central Paris killed four people. Authorities at the time suspected a gas leak to be behind it.