At least 6 killed in New Zealand hotel fire

At least six people were killed Tuesday in a fire in a four-storey hotel housing workers and underprivileged in New Zealand’s capital Wellington.

Huge flames and thick smoke rose in the night from Monday to Tuesday from the top floor of Loafers Lodge, a hotel in central Wellington.

Firefighters found six bodies inside the burning building. Emergency services said the roof of the building had collapsed and they were unable to search all 92 rooms.

Police said the final toll could only be determined after the hotel was combed after it was secured, likely on Wednesday.

Six people were taken to hospital, one of them in a critical condition, and 15 others were treated at the scene, according to emergency services.

More than fifty people were rescued.

Firefighters used a raised ladder to evacuate residents trapped on the roof, some of whom were “from an area that was directly above the flames,” Radio New Zealand (RNZ) National Fire Services Deputy Chief and Relief Officer Brendan Nally said.

Mr. Nally added that there were no sprinklers in the lodge and the fire alarm did not go off automatically.

Regional Fire and Rescue Services Director Bruce Stubbs described the source of the fire as “suspicious”.

– ‘Jump out the window’ –

One resident, Tala Sele, said smoke billowed under his door before he decided to jump onto a roof two floors below.

“I was upstairs and couldn’t get through the hallway because of so much smoke, so I had to jump out the window,” he told RNZ. “It was scary, really scary, but I knew I had to jump out the window or I would burn inside the building.”

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Rescuers pulled him from the roof.

Hemie Lewis, 56, still reeked of smoke as he recounted how he managed to escape from the burning third floor.

“I opened my door and there was smoke everywhere. There were flames coming from the ceiling. I couldn’t breathe. So I threw myself on the floor and crawled to the bottom,” he told reporters, after finding shelter in a missile center. Receiving disaster victims.

“I don’t know what to do now, I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost everything. I’m wearing the same clothes,” says the 50-year-old who has been living in this hotel for four months.

Emergency services estimate that about 90 people were in the facility at the time of the fire. Several residents said the building’s smoke detector was going off so often that they doubted it was a true emergency.

– ‘Convenient and affordable’ –

“It is an absolute tragedy,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hepkins said, praising the work of the firefighters.

He explained that many night workers or day laborers were staying at this hotel, making it difficult to determine how many people were there at the time of the fire.

Mr Hipkins added: “We will have the opportunity to verify that this building complied with all the rules that it had to respect.”

On its website, Loafers Lodge bills itself as “a convenient and affordable place to stay.” It offers single rooms as well as shared kitchens and living spaces.

The police, who announced an investigation, said the cause of the fire was still “unexplained”.

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