Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has described a fatal fire at a Newtown hostel overnight as a "shock to the system".
At least six people are dead after the fire at Loafers Lodge on Adelaide Rd, which broke out about 12.25am. Around 92 people live in the 94-room lodge and so far 52 people have been accounted for.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called the fire a "really tragic situation".
"It's a really concerning development and, obviously, our thoughts will be with all of the firefighters involved, all of the victims of the terrible tragedy that's unfolding in Wellington this morning."
Whanau told Breakfast it had been "a very emotional few minutes with the crew down here".
"My heart just goes out to the friends and family of those who have been impacted by this," she said, becoming emotional.
"I just really want to thank our fire department, the council and, of course, MSD for coming together and working their hardest to deal with this situation as best they could."
Whanau called it "a strange situation to be in as the mayor".
"I'm feeling a lot of pain and emotion for those who have been lost and at this moment, we just have to get those who have made it out of the building, getting them [to] feel safe. We have some in hospital at the moment with injuries. We have to deal with that as soon as possible.
"With what we know so far, we just have to come together and give our love to the families impacted by this tragic situation."
Fire and Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt has called the incident "a worst nightmare" and the fire a "once-in-a-decade" one for Wellington.
"If you could understand our Newtown crew, they came from 2.5 kilometres up the road. They would have been here at 25 past 12, coming down and they would have seen it, they would have faced it.
"They would have been really mixed with putting water on the fire, rescuing people. It doesn't get worse than this for our people."
The prime minister acknowledged on Breakfast the valiant efforts of the firefighters involved. (Source: Breakfast)
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