The fire in Wellington

George Heard / AP  

The fire in New Zealand Man arrested after fire at hostel in Wellington  

Police in New Zealand have arrested a man suspected of arson at a hostel in Wellington where six people died.  

"The investigation into the fire is ongoing and the police have not ruled out additional, more serious charges linked to the deaths at the scene," the police write in a press release. 

According to the New Zealand Herald, ten people are still missing after the fire that broke out at the hostel during the night of Tuesday. About 90 people lived in the four-story building. Several of the residents have been homeless and unemployed.  

The arrested man will be formally charged with the offense before a court in Wellington on Friday. 

Loafers Lodge hostel in Wellington, New Zealand. Masanori Udagawa / AP 

Police investigate arson at hostel in Wellington  

The police suspect that the fire at the hostel in Wellington in New Zealand was arson and are now investigating it as arson. Six people died and eleven people are still missing. Just two hours before the fire broke out, a sofa in the hostel reportedly caught fire, but no blue light personnel were called to the scene, according to RNZ.  

The hostel was home to, among other things, people living on welfare, the homeless, but also nurses and shift workers who worked at Wellington Hospital, which is a block away from the hostel, writes The Guardian.  

The hostel had undergone an annual fire safety inspection in March this year and was approved but missing sprinklers, RNZ