Your trusted source

Police in California have denied reports that a body was found in a burnt-out mountain cabin where a man believed to be a ex-policeman accused of three murders was holed up, BBC reported. 

Flames were seen rising from the cabin, as a police Swat team went in.

There were initially reports that a burnt body had been found, but police say the remains of the cabin have yet to be searched.

This comes after a shoot-out in which a local sheriff's deputy was killed.

Another police officer is in hospital with injuries.

The gunman was believed to be Christopher Dorner, 33, a former member of the Los Angeles police force.

He had reportedly sworn revenge on police officers he blamed for his sacking in 2008.

But, denying earlier news reports that a body had been found, Los Angeles Police Commander Andrew Smith said the cabin was "still too hot and no inspectors had access to it yet."

The authorities earlier confirmed that there was gunfire in the forest before the suspect barricaded himself in the cabin.

Reports say the police then fired tear gas into the building and used a loudspeaker to urge the gunman to surrender.

A single gunshot was later heard inside and the fire started spreading through the cabin.

At a news conference, Cindy Bachman of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department confirmed that one of the wounded sheriff's deputies had died in an exchange of fire earlier on Tuesday.

"He was pronounced dead in hospital," she said.

Police were alerted after a man matching Mr Dorner's description reportedly broke into a house and tied two people up before making off in a stolen vehicle.

The suspect then abandoned the car and ran into the forest.

The search moved to the area of Big Bear Lake, a ski resort 80 miles (130km) east of Los Angeles, last Thursday after the suspect's burnt-out truck was found there.

LA officials had offered a $1m (£630,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.

The authorities earlier said that the former officer with Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was suspected of killing three people, including a policeman.

Police have been protecting about 50 families, many belonging to former LAPD colleagues, against whom Mr Dorner had vowed revenge for allegedly ruining his career.

In an online manifesto, Mr Dorner, a former US Navy reservist, suggested that racism was rife in the LAPD.