WELLINGTON: A 48-year-old homeless man appeared in New Zealand court on Friday on two charges of arson as police found a fifth body in the burnt out remains of a hostel in the capital Wellington.
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 is hampering recovery efforts.
New Zealand Fire and Emergency earlier this week confirmed the death toll was at least six, however Inspector Dion Bennett, acting Wellington police district commander, said that at this stage just five bodies had been identified and less than 10 people were unaccounted for.
“Until we have fully examined all parts of the building, we remain reluctant to confirm the specific number of deceased,” Bennett said at press conference on Friday.
The hostel provided accommodation for people including construction workers, hospital staff, but also for those on sickness and disability benefits and some were serving sentences in the community for minor crimes.
A 48-year-old man, who has his name suppressed until at least his next court appearance, appeared in Wellington District Court briefly on Friday afternoon. He appeared agitated in the docks, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt over his head and dancing and making hand gestures to the media.
“Someone else done it,” he yelled before being asked by the judge to quieten down. He also said he was firing his lawyer given bail was not going to be granted.
His lawyer continue to represent him. He was remanded in jail until next month. Further charges are possible.
Bennett said police had yet to make it into parts of the building as it remain dangerous due to structural issues that work to make it safer was ongoing.
“The scene examination will continue over the weekend and we hope to recover the fifth person as quickly as we can,” Bennett said.
Fifth body found in burnt out New Zealand hostel, man appears in court on arson charges
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Fifth body found in burnt out New Zealand hostel, man appears in court on arson charges
- Blaze broke out on the top floor of the Loafers Lodge in the early hours of Tuesday
- Hostel provided accommodation for people including construction workers and hospital staff
More than 9,000 flights canceled as major winter storm bears down across much of US
- “Dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills are spreading into the area and will remain in place into Monday,” the agency said on X
DALLAS: More than 9,000 flights across the US set to take off over the weekend have been canceled as a major storm expected to wreak havoc across much of the country threatens to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways.
Roughly 140 million people were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England.
The National Weather Service forecast warns of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina.
Forecasters say damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.
Ice and sleet that hit northern Texas overnight were moving toward the central part of the state on Saturday, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said.
“Dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills are spreading into the area and will remain in place into Monday,” the agency said on X.
Low temperatures will be mostly in the single digits for the next few nights, with wind chills as low as minus 24 Celsius.
About 68,000 power outages were reported across the country at 8 a.m. ET, about 27,600 of them in Texas. Snow and sleet continued to fall in Oklahoma.
After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about a foot of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the weather service predicted.
Temperatures reached minus 34 C just before dawn in rural Lewis County and other parts of upstate New York after days of heavy snow.
Governors in more than a dozen states sounded the alarm about the turbulent weather ahead, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home.
