Photo: SUPPLIED
A second person has died after being rescued from a house fire in Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast.
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, Holborow said.
She commended the firefighters who acted quickly to pull the pair out of the burning house.
