New Zealand police are to begin removing bodies from the Wellington hostel where at least six people were killed after a fire broke out earlier this week, with the death toll expected to rise.
There were “less than 20” people still missing including the six dead, acting Wellington district commander Inspector Dion Bennett said. The dead have not yet been identified.
Two bodies were expected to be removed from the building on Thursday and two on Friday, local news website Stuff reported.
Police say they are treating the fire as an act of arson and have a number of people of interest they plan to interview as part of a homicide investigation.
There were just over 100 people in the 92-bed Loafers Lodge when the fire broke out. The hostel housed a mix of short- and long-term tenants – including some New Zealanders under corrections orders.
The blaze has triggered outrage and despair among New Zealanders due to the vulnerable nature of those affected. Many who survived lost all of their possessions and some have been left homeless.
Prime minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday said he would task housing minister Megan Woods with examining building regulations issues.
“I’ve already asked officials to give me advice in terms of what we need to do to ensure that buildings are safe for New Zealanders,” Dr Woods said.
Fire and Emergency NZ boss Kerry Gregory on Thursday defended the organisation’s response to the blaze after claims that firefighters had lacked the resources to tackle it.
“I want to reassure the public that fire and emergency are ready, able and capable of responding,” he told reporters, adding that 33 trucks and 80 firefighters had been sent to the scene and that firefighters had done an “excellent job”.
However, he conceded that “firefighter numbers are not where we need them to be”.
He also said there were issues with ageing fleets and stations that weren’t fit for purpose, noting 27 per cent of fire appliances were beyond their target life of 20-25 years, according to the NZ Herald.
An operational review into how the fire was tackled would be launched to see what could be learned, he said.
Loafers Lodge director Greg Mein also defended the maintenance of the building on Wednesday.
“Myself, the management, the family … of the owner, everyone is just gutted by this. It’s just done us in completely,” he told reporters. Mein said monthly inspections and a recent annual building warrant of fitness showed “all the services are up to standard and … everything was a-OK”.
With Australian Associated Press
