Police are urging anyone with information about a fatal south Dunedin house fire to come forward.
Two people have been confirmed dead in the fire Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
The blaze tore through the rear flat of a Wesley Street house shortly after 5am yesterday, killing two people.
An elderly man escaped from the front flat.
A hearse was seen leaving the cordons in Wesley Street this afternoon.
Friends and family of the two people presumed to have died in the fire have gathered in the area.
One friend told RNZ a couple lived there with their dog.
The man had teenage daughters.
Meanwhile, emergency services are yet to determine the cause of the fire and have only publicly stated it is unexplained.
Police said this morning that the scene examination of the residence was ongoing.
"We expect to be able to remove the bodies of the deceased from the house this afternoon, and post mortems will be done tomorrow," a police spokesperson said.
The names of the deceased would not be released until police had completed formal identification.
Specialist fire investigator Mark Bredenbeck said three Fire and Emergency investigators were on site working with police detectives and ESR to investigate the blaze.
The street had been closed again today to allow investigations to take place.
Investigators were now conducting a more thorough scene examination and hoped to have more information by the end of the day, Mr Bredenbeck said.
A police scene guard remained in place at the address overnight.
Police said they were grateful for the information the public had provided so far, but they wanted to hear from anyone else who might have seen or heard something.
Information could be provided to Dunedin police on (03) 471-4800 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555-111.
