Up to ten people lost their lives and eleven more are still missing after a massive blaze at a busy hostel.
The shocking tragedy takes place in Wellington, New Zealand, where a 4-story hostel named Loafers Lodge Hostel caught fire at around 12.30 am on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the fire currently remains under investigation. Foul play is suspected.
After the blaze had spread throughout many of the hostel’s 92 rooms, 52 people were evacuated from the burning building.
While 11 victims still remain unaccounted for, the authorities fear that the total death toll could reach ten fatalities.
The fire was fully suppressed by 11 am local time after more than twenty fire trucks arrived at the scene in the suburb of Newtown.
“This is our once-in-a-decade fire for Wellington,” Wellington Fire and Emergency District Manager Pyatt said.
“I can sadly report that this will be a multi-fatality incident. Our thoughts at this time are with the families of those who have perished and with our crews who valiantly rescued those and attempted to rescue those that they couldn’t.
“This is our worst nightmare. It doesn’t get worse than this.”
Speaking out about the blaze was also the hostel’s property manager who explained that the lodging was popular among a variety of workers rather than tourists.
“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,” Marie Murphy told the NZ Herald.
“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.
“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.”
Our thoughts remain with the victims of the fire and their families during this challenging time.
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