Six people have died and 20 more are feared missing after a massive fire broke out at a busy hostel in New Zealand.
Emergency services were called to the scene at the four-storey Loafers Lodge in central Wellington shortly before 12.30am on Tuesday (1.30pm on Monday UK time), the Mirror reports.
Flames quickly spread from the top floor during the blaze which a fire chief has called ‘his worst nightmare’. Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt said 52 people have been accounted for, but that a number still remained missing.
He said: "I can sadly report that this will be a multi-fatality incident. Our thoughts at this time are with the families of those who have perished and with our crews who valiantly rescued those (they could) and attempted to rescue those that they couldn't.
"This is our worst nightmare. It doesn't get worse than this."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told the AM morning news programme he understands that six people have been confirmed dead and there are likely to be more.
A statement from Wellington District Police said: “Police can confirm a number of fatalities following the fire in central Wellington this morning. Officers remain at the scene at Loafers Lodge on Adelaide Road where a fire broke out around 12.30am.
“Our initial assessment is that the number of deceased is fewer than 10, however, we are not in a position to be any more specific until we can access the building.
“It is currently unsafe and until we can access the building - and reconcile numbers of people who are safe - we are not in a position to determine how many people are deceased or unaccounted for.
“Our focus is on identifying those people as soon as we can. We are asking people to please come forward if they, or someone they know, has been staying at the property, so we can eliminate them from our inquiries.
“At this stage the cause of the fire is unexplained, and police will be working alongside FENZ to determine the cause.
“Adelaide Road between John Street and the Basin Reserve is expected to remain closed for much of the day while Fire and Emergency NZ work at the scene alongside police.”
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