The Latest Breaking News from New Zealand

This blog is now closed. You can read our full story on the fire here:

Authorities described it as ‘the worst nightmare for us’

Four-storey, 92-room Wellington hostel was almost fully occupied at time of ‘once in a decade’ fire

"This is our worst nightmare"

A NASA scientific balloon flight was terminated Sunday (May 14) after the craft developed an irreparable leak about a day and a half into flight.

If the recent flood of sleep-inducing pre-budget speeches and commentary is any indication, New Zealand voters can expect largely unimaginative leadership that fails to prepare the country for an uncertain future, regardless of who wins October’s election.

A fire ripped through a hostel in New Zealand’s capital overnight, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-story building in their pajamas in what a fire chief on Tuesday called his “worst nightmare.”

New Zealand's prime minister says an overnight fire at a four-story hostel in New Zealand’s capital has killed at least six people

Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt has described the blaze at the Loafers Lodge hostel in Wellington as his 'worst nightmare'.

A hostel fire in New Zealand's capital has left multiple people dead in a "tragic event for all involved" — as it happened.

A huge fire broke out at Loafers Lodge in central Wellington in New Zealand, with 30 people missing and at least six people dead. Local media reports the blaze may have been started deliberately