Death toll in New Zealand hostel fire lowered to 5 as arson suspect appears in court
New Zealand police Friday lowered the confirmed death toll from a Wellington hostel fire from six people to five, although they said they still haven’t finished searching the dangerous four-story building.
The reduced toll came as a man charged with two counts of arson in connection with the fire made his first court appearance. The 48-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, was not required to enter a plea and was ordered held in jail until his next court appearance June 19.
If found guilty, the man faces a maximum of 14 years in prison on the charges. Police said they’re treating the case as a homicide investigation and could add more serious charges later.
Police Inspector Dion Bennett did not offer an explanation for why authorities had reduced the death toll after having put it at six since Tuesday, hours after the fire ripped through Loafers Lodge.
But Bennett did say that police have still not been able to search all areas of the building after parts of a roof and a floor collapsed in the fire and created piles of debris.
“The scene examination in itself, and in the third floor in particular, is quite dangerous,” Bennett told reporters. “And there are still parts we can’t cross.”
Forecasters say portions of California could get a break this wildfire season, but at lower elevations the outlook is uncertain.
He said that urban search-and-rescue teams had been working with police to prop up sections of the floor as police inched forward with their examination. He said police had removed four bodies and hoped to remove the fifth soon.
The man charged with setting fire to a couch and to the lodge wore a black hoodie in court, waved his arms about and tried to fire his lawyer, local media reported.
Lawyer Douglas Ewen later told the Associated Press that the man remained his client. The judge granted the man temporary name suppression, a routine practice in the New Zealand legal system.
Police had earlier said there was a couch fire at Loafers Lodge about two hours before the larger fatal fire. They said the couch fire was not reported to emergency services at the time, and they were investigating to see if there was any link between the two fires.
Members of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation became the latest Indigenous tribe to watch homes burn despite knowing it could have been avoided.
The deadly fire ripped through the building about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, forcing some people to flee in their pajamas. Others were rescued by firefighters from the roof or jumped from windows.
Emergency officials said the building had no fire sprinklers, which are not required in older buildings that would need to be retrofitted.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he has asked his housing minister to investigate current building regulations to see if they need changing.
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