Global Courant 2023-05-19 00:11:01
CNN
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New Zealand authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with a hostel fire that killed at least six people on Tuesday.
The man has been charged with two counts of arson, but police say they have not ruled out “further, more serious allegations related to the deaths at the scene”.
“Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the fire,” a spokesperson added on Thursday.
Firefighters were called to the Loafers Lodge hostel in the city center just after midnight local time and found the top floor of the four-story building well on fire, according to a statement from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
While firefighters battled the blaze, 52 people were evacuated.
Tala Sili, who stayed at the hostel, told CNN affiliate Radio NZ the experience was “really scary”.
He said he saw smoke coming from under his door on the top floor of the hostel, and he jumped two stories onto the roof of a nearby building, where he was eventually rescued by paramedics and treated for a sprained ankle.
Local politician Paul Eagle told RNZ the transient nature of many of the building’s occupants had made it difficult for authorities to determine who was in the building during the fire.
“It’s not uncommon for them not to know exactly who is there at the time, because people can come and go all the time,” the Rongotai MP told RNZ. “It’s a simple place, there’s a roof over their heads, simple shelter.”
According to the Loafers Lodge website, the hostel offers 92 rooms with common areas, kitchens and laundry facilities within walking distance of Wellington Hospital in Newtown.
Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson told reporters that many residents had “lost absolutely everything they had.”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited the site on Tuesday and expressed its condolences to the victims and their loved ones.
“We haven’t seen an event of this magnitude in quite some time,” he said.
A Mayor’s Relief Fund for those affected by the fire, Wellington Mayor Tory, has been set up through the Wellington City Mission Whanau told reporters.
Most of the residents evacuated from the hostel were sent to safe accommodation, where they received food, shelter and warm blankets. said in a video shared on her Facebook page.
At a press conference, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had spoken to Hipkins and offered to help where necessary.
“I have expressed my condolences on behalf of Australia to our friends in New Zealand at this very difficult time,” Albanese told reporters in Melbourne. “Any help will of course be available, as always, from Australia to New Zealand.”
