Police can confirm a number of fatalities following the fire in central Wellington this morning.
Officers remain at the scene at Loafers Lodge on Adelaide Road where fire broke out around 12:30am.
Our initial assessment is that the number of deceased is fewer than 10, however, we are not in a position to be any more specific until we can access the building.
It is currently unsafe and until we can access the building - and reconcile numbers of people who are safe - we are not in a position to determine how many people are deceased or unaccounted for.
Our focus is on identifying those people as soon as we can.
We are asking people to please come forward if they, or someone they know, has been staying at the property, so we can eliminate them from our inquiries.
At the stage the cause of the fire is unexplained, and Police will be working alongside FENZ to determine cause.
Adelaide Road between John Street and the Basin Reserve is expected to remain closed for much of the day while Fire and Emergency NZ work at the scene alongside Police.
Inspector Dean Silvester, Wellington Area Commander, will be available to speak to media at 8.45am, at the corner of John Street and Adelaide Road.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.