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Dozens of people are feared dead after a large fire broke out overnight at a hostel in Wellington.
Follow our live coverage here.
Fire and Emergency were called to the building on Adelaide Rd in Newtown at 12.25am on Tuesday, and found the top floor of the building on fire, incident controller Mike Dombrowski said.
Emergency services are calling the Loafers’s Lodge fire a “multiple fatality” event.
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In a media stand-up outside the lodge at 6.30am, Fire and Emergency district manager Nick Pyatt called it a “once-in-a-decade fire”.
He said and 111 call takers were on the phone to people who they lost contact with and his crew was “heroic”.
“They had to put their own lives at risk to get as many people out of there as possible,” he said.
He said the building’s roof was at risk of collapsing.
“It doesn’t get worse than this.”
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau also spoke to media on Tuesday morning.
She said all residents were evacuated and most have gone to a “safe shelter” where they received food, blankets and the option to shower.
“Some have had to go to hospital for treatment but at this stage things are looking okay.”
It’s not clear how many people are still unaccounted for, she said.
Speaking to TVNZ’s Breakfast, Whanau had to hold back tears.
“I dare say it’s been a shock to the system – a very emotional few minutes with the crew here.
”I’m feeling a lot of pain and emotion at those who have been lost.”
Whanau said the Ministry of Social Development will be looking to support those who need accomodation but she expects many will go to their families.
A Ministry spokesperson confirmed the lodge is not an emergency housing provider.
Loafer’s Lodge property manager Marie Murphy said there were about 94 people in the hostel, and that many had gone to Newtown Park Stadium for shelter.
Murphy, who had managed the lodge for 13 years, said it was home to a range of people.
“We’ve got everyone living there. We have nurses. We’ve had doctors, nurses, unemployed people, meat workers, hospital staff. All sorts of people. A real variety of people,” she said.
“This is very sad for a lot of people. Not only the ones who’ve lost their lives, but those who’ve lost their homes. There’s a lot of full time people. A lot have been there longer than I‘ve been there,” Murphy said.
“It just feels surreal. It doesn’t feel real. It’s very hard. It was a pretty bad fire. I’m feeling very sad at the moment. I really have no information about what has happened yet,” she said.
Murphy, who lives elsewhere, was alerted to the fire around midnight.
At the Newtown Park Stadium, one ambulance, security guards and Wellington Regional Emergency Management staff are stationed outside the clubrooms, where evacuees have been moved.
It’s unknown how many people are inside the clubrooms, but only one or two residents lingered outside at 730am. Several cars are parked outside.
A second ambulance arrived at the scene about 7.40am, with at least three paramedics carrying large sacks of supplies including towels inside the premises.
Twenty fire trucks were at Loafers Lodge, and crews had rescued five people off the roof using an “aerial appliance”.
About 6am, 52 people had been found and a number of others still unaccounted for.
Adelaide Rd was closed from John St, and was expected to remain closed for some time – while crews worked through the morning.
Power had also been impacted in the area, with the building’s power needing to be isolated.
Dombrowski said residents should stay inside with their windows and doors closed due to the smoke plume.
A witness said flames had engulfed at least the top couple floors of the building.
“Flames could be seen coming from the roof and fire services are still currently working to extinguish it.”
Wellington City Council advised motorists and other commuters to take alternative routes and expect delays.
A council spokesperson said buses and other traffic between the central city and southern suburbs were likely to be diverted for several hours at least and delays could be expected.
Bus passengers were advised to check the Metlink website for further details.
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