Fire at hostel in N.Z. kills 6 people

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A fire ripped through a hostel in New Zealand’s capital overnight, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-story building in their pajamas in what a fire chief on Tuesday called his “worst nightmare.”

Fifty-two people in the Loafers Lodge Hostel in Wellington have been accounted for, but firefighters are still looking for others, said Wellington Fire and Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt. He said they were called to the hostel about 12:30 a.m.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told a morning news program that he understands that six people have been confirmed dead and there are likely to be more. Police said they don’t yet have an exact count of the number of dead, although they believe it’s fewer than 10 people.

“Our thoughts at this time are with the families of those who have perished and with our crews who valiantly rescued those [they could] and attempted to rescue those that they couldn’t,” Pyatt said.

“This is our worst nightmare,” Pyatt said. “It doesn’t get worse than this.”

Police said the cause of the fire remained unexplained, and they will be investigating alongside fire and emergency officials.

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said officials were helping about 50 people who had escaped the fire and were now at an emergency center the council had set up at a local track that had showers and other facilities.

He said there were a number of elderly people who had escaped with only the pajamas they were wearing.

Many are “clearly shaken and bewildered about what happened,” he said.

The hostel provided both short-term and long-term rentals, MacLean said.