Body to be removed after fatal house fire

Scene of a fatal house fire on Auckland's North Shore. Photo / NZPA/David Rowland.

The body of a person who died in a fire in a flat on Auckland's North Shore yesterday will be removed today for a post mortem.

The body was so badly burned it could not be identified as a man or woman.

It remained under guard overnight in the upstairs Browns Bay flat as police waited for daylight to begin an investigation.

The fire began about 5pm and was burning fiercely by the time firefighters arrived.

Only one person was in the flat when the fire began, Detective Senior Sergeant Kim Libby said.

He said the death was being treated as a suspicious.

Witnesses said huge pillars of smoke were billowing from the flat when firefighters arrived.

Fire safety officers were waiting for police to remove the body before they entered the flat.

It was too early to say what might have caused the blaze, they said.

- NZPA