At Least Six People Died In A Fire At A Hostel In New Zealand

New Zealand’s prime minister announced that a fire at a four-story hostel in the nation’s capital on Monday night had resulted in at least six fatalities, with the local fire chief describing it as his “worst nightmare.”

According to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, there may be more fatalities in the Wellington fire than the six that have been officially reported deceased.

Police stated that although they do not yet have an accurate count of the deceased, they believe there are fewer than 10 persons.

Around 12.30 am local time, the Loafers Lodge hostel received a request for emergency services.

Nick Pyatt; Wellington Fire and Emergency district manager said 52 people have been accounted for, but that a number remained unaccounted for.

“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,” Mr. Pyatt told reporters.

“This is our worst nightmare,” Mr Pyatt said. “It doesn’t get worse than this.”

Police said the cause of the fire remained unexplained, and they would be investigating alongside fire and emergency officials.

Loafers Lodge resident Tala Sili told news outlet Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that he saw smoke pouring through under his door and opened it to find the hallway pitch black.

“I was on the top floor and I couldn’t go through the hallway because there was just too much smoke, so I jumped out the window,” Mr Sili said.

He said he then fell onto a roof two floors below.

“It was just scary, it was really scary, but I knew I had to jump out the window or just burn inside the building,” he added.

He said he was rescued from the roof by paramedics and treated for a sprained ankle.

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said it was helping about 50 people who had escaped the fire and were now at an emergency center the council had set up at a local running track that had showers and other facilities.

He said there were a number of elderly people it was helping who had escaped with only the pyjamas they were wearing.

“A lot are clearly shaken and bewildered about what happened,” he said.

According to Mr. MacLean, the hostel offered both short- and long-term rentals. He claimed to not have all the information, but he thought it was used by several government organizations to offer emergency housing.

When guests are in the city, whether for business or to visit the neighboring Wellington Hospital, Loafers Lodge promotes itself as an inexpensive location to stay.

It advertises its 92 rooms as being available for extended stays.

Reporters were briefed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that he had spoken with Mr. Hipkins and offered help on behalf of Australia.

“This is a dreadful human tragedy,” Mr Albanese said. “I expressed my condolences on behalf of Australia to our friends in New Zealand at this very difficult time.”