New Zealand police to start removing bodies after hostel fire

The exterior of a hostel, after a fire ripped through the building, resulting in a number of deaths, in Wellington, New Zealand May, 16, 2023. AAP Image/Ben McKay via REUTERS

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand police expect to start removing bodies from the hostel in Wellington where at least six people died in a fire earlier this week, authorities said on Thursday.

A blaze broke out on the top floor of the Loafers Lodge in the suburb of Newtown in the early hours of Tuesday, causing major structural damage that has hampered efforts to get inside.