A second person has died following a house fire in Ōtaki on Sunday.
Elderly couple Earl Robert Stuart and Ngamata-A-Tumu Stuart have died after they were transported to hospital in critical condition following a fire on State Highway 1, Ōtaki on 21 July.
The scene exam has been completed and the initial report from fire investigators indicates the fire was not suspicious.
Police say further enquiries will be undertaken to determine the cause of the fire, and the deaths will be referred to the Coroner.
A blaze broke out at a property on State Highway 1 just north of the town on Sunday night and firefighters arrived to find a bedroom alight.
A whānau member, Evey Keefe-Torea, announced on Facebook “with deep sadness” that those who died were her uncle and aunty.
Her uncle, Earl Robert Stuart, died on Monday, and her aunty, Ngamata-A-Tumu Stuart, “passed peacefully in the presence of her family” on Tuesday, she said.
“We ask that you please be patient whanau as we navigate through this mamae.”
Fire and Emergency said crews pulled both occupants out of the house, and they were taken to hospital.
On Tuesday, police confirmed one person had since died, while the other was in a critical condition.
On Wednesday, police said the second person had also died.
“The scene examination has been completed and the initial report from fire investigators indicates the fire was not suspicious,” police said.
On hearing the news of the first person’s death, Kāpiti mayor Janet Holborow said the community would be hurting.
“It’s such a tragic loss of life, and such a traumatic event,” she said. “Ōtaki is a tight-knit community, so this will have an impact on neighbours, the wider community.”
The community would come together to support the affected whānau, Mayor Holborow said.
She commended the firefighters who acted quickly to pull the pair out of the burning house.
