28 November 2015 | Hundreds of young Kiwis were evacuated from Beachcomber Island after a fierce blaze during a Spring Break party. Video / Raj Brar
Max Key has told his father Prime Minister John Key that he was on the other side of the island from a fire which swept through Fiji's Beachcomber Resort, forcing the evacuation of the island.
Mr Key, who is in Malta for CHOGM, spoke to Max after it emerged hewas among those evacuated as a fire swept through the resort.
"He said it was on the other side of the island to him, and that they were quite significant flames, but he wasn't near it. They acted pretty quickly. It had the potential to be quite nasty if they hadn't acted quickly," Key said.
Hundreds of young New Zealanders were evacuated from the island after a fierce blaze during a Spring Break party.
Fire broke out early on Friday at the Fijian resort hosting about 200 Kiwi 20-somethings for a week of partying.
The blaze - thought to have been started by a discarded cigarette - ripped through a bure (hut) near revellers about 2am, hours before the festival-goers were to board a 29m yacht to Nadi for their flights home.
In dramatic video of the fire posted to Facebook, a man yells at partygoers: "Everyone to the boat!" as a figure on a roof tries to douse the flames.
Resort manager Memia Marama said she thought the fire had been started by a cigarette butt. Photo / Facebook / Raj Brar
The day before the blaze, Max Key and fellow budding DJ Joshua Troskie - who make up the DJ outfit Troskey - appeared in a picture posted to Instagram on a boat in Fiji, with Key holding a can of Fiji Bitter.
Event organiser Richard Henry said the outcome could have been a lot worse had it not been for the quick actions of resort staff.
"When the wind goes and with the palm trees, unless it's contained it can be very dangerous," he said.
"But all rooms were cleared, all guests were down on the beach, everyone was accounted for and we managed to contain the fire to one bure that has been burned to the ground.
"Otherwise, the whole island was held safe, which is a credit to the Fijian boys.
"They were climbing trees, climbing all the other bures and dousing everything and controlling the fire. They were beyond exceptional."
Max Key and Joshua Troskie. Photo / Instagram
Festival preparations included a nurse being flown over from New Zealand, with security staff and local police attending.
Henry refused to make any comment about Max Key.
The Herald on Sunday has confirmed the PM's son was on the island when the fire began.
This week Key posted a picture to his own Instagram account of him reclining in a beachside hammock on Beachcomber Island.
Festival-goer Brendan Lochner last night described the Spring Break event as "the best time of my life".
He was already on the boat waiting to head back to Nadi when the fire broke out.
