New Zealand police have launched an investigation into a Wellington hostel fire that killed at least six people.
Authorities confirmed they were treating the fire as arson, and said more than 20 people were still missing.
Fire damage delayed investigators from fully searching the building until Wednesday.
Police said they could not be specific about the death toll until they had full access.
On Wednesday, a reconnaissance search team was sent. Firefighters found six bodies on Tuesday.
Police have not released the identities of the dead or the missing – some of whom may be missing for other reasons, he said.
The fire broke out at the four-storey Loafers Lodge hostel in the capital just after midnight local time (12:30 GMT Monday) on Monday.
Residents were forced to crawl through the smoke, while others were rescued from the roof by firefighters.
On Wednesday, Wellington police confirmed they were treating the fire as a criminal matter.
“I can confirm that we are treating the fire as an arson,” Acting Wellington District Commander Devon Bennett said.
“This scene inspection will be an extensive and methodical process, and we expect it to take some time – possibly several days.”
Prime Minister Chris Hopkins described the blaze as “an absolute tragedy” while fire officials described the blaze as the capital’s “worst nightmare”.
Loafers Lodge Hostel offers a total of 92 rooms and caters to both short and long term guests.
It was designated as an emergency accommodation provider by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development in 2011. More than 3,300 households are currently living in emergency accommodation as of February, official figures show.
Its customers range from shift workers such as nurses and hospital staff to the unemployed and homeless, JEE News reported.
