Bodies will start being recovered from Loafers Lodge hostel in Wellington today, according to police.
The hostel was the scene of a deadly fire overnight on Tuesday, with at least six people losing their lives in the blaze which is being treated as arson.
Speaking at a media conference this afternoon, Inspector Dion Bennett said the plan is to recover two bodies today and two tomorrow.
"This afternoon I expect that we will commence recovering some bodies from the Loafers Lodge and I expect that it's likely to be two bodies that we will be able to remove today."
He said the scene examination is likely to take several days and will continue into the weekend.
Bennett said teams will be doing their best to recover and identify the victims but the third floor is very damaged.
"The damage on the third floor is significant, the debris is piled high, and there is much for them to move and search underneath."
He said the number of people accounted for remains at 92 and less than 20 people are unaccounted for.
There will be a karakia before the bodies are removed and they’ll then travel to a mortuary for disaster victim identification.
Fire engineer Carol Caldwell said "the expectations of the fire design couldn't possibly have worked" at Loafers Lodge. (Source: Breakfast)
Earlier today, Fire and Emergency New Zealand reassured the public they were adequately staffed and equipped to tackle the Loafers Lodge fire — but their ageing fleet does bring "challenges", according to chief executive Kerry Gregory.
It comes amid questions over the trucks and appliances available in Wellington for high-rise buildings.
Newtown's 32m-long ladder truck was out of service on Tuesday, having spent just 45 days in operation since July 2020, RNZ reported today. That truck was replaced with a 17m-long ladder truck at the fire, Gregory said.
"I want to reassure people we had the people and specialist equipment required for the Loafer's Lodge fire," Gregory said this morning.
"We dispatched 33 trucks, over 80 firefighters, from all over Wellington, for the duration of that event.
"This is how we respond to incidents of that magnitude."
However, he added that, while FENZ has invested considerably in rebuilding and refurbishing fire stations and purchasing new trucks and specialist equipment since it was established in 2017, it does face challenges with ageing fleet and stations that are not fit for purpose.
Twenty-seven per cent of New Zealand's fire trucks are beyond their target asset life of 20 to 25 years.
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