Global Courant 2023-05-16 04:58:16
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — In New Zealand’s capital, a fire broke out overnight at a hostel, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-storey building in their pajamas in what was called a fire chief on Tuesday ‘worst nightmare’.
Fifty-two people at the Loafers Lodge hostel in Wellington were accounted for, but firefighters were still looking for others, Wellington Fire and Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt said. He said they were called to the hostel around 12:30 am
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told the AM morning news program that he understood six people were dead and the number of fatalities was likely to rise. Police said they did not have an exact count of the dead, though they believe the total number of fatalities was less than 10.
Hipkins said the building is currently not safe for police to enter and it could take time for authorities to confirm the number of dead.
“It is an utter tragedy. It is an appalling situation,” the prime minister told reporters. deal with the situation.”
Responding to comments from emergency services that the building did not have sprinklers, Hipkins said there is currently no New Zealand building code requirement for older buildings to be retrofitted with sprinkler systems.
Pyatt, the fire chief, said his thoughts were with the families of those who died and the crews who rescued those they could and tried to save those they couldn’t.
“This is our worst nightmare,” Pyatt said. “It doesn’t get any worse than this.”
Police say the cause of the fire is not immediately known.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said city officials were assisting about 50 people who escaped the fire and were in an emergency center the council had set up on a local athletics track with showers and other facilities.
He said several elderly people had fled the building with only the pajamas they were wearing.
“Many are clearly shocked and bewildered by what has happened,” he said.
The hostel offered a combination of short-term and long-term rentals, MacLean said. He didn’t have all the details, he said, but he believed it was being used by various government agencies to provide needed accommodations for customers.
Health authorities said two people who were in the building were being treated at hospitals and both are in stable condition. Three others had been treated and discharged, while a sixth patient had chosen to leave before receiving treatment.
Loafers Lodge advertises itself as an affordable place for people to stay while in the capital, whether on a business trip or needing to visit the nearby Wellington Hospital. It has 92 rooms and promotes them as available for the long term.
