Child dies in hospital after Canterbury house fire that killed adult

Two people, including a child, died following a house fire in Rakaia over the weekend. Photo / Mike Thorpe

A child has succumbed to injuries in hospital after a house fire in Canterbury at the weekend, which also claimed the life of an adult.

Fire and Emergency NZ was called to Dunford St, Rakaia, 60km south of Christchurch, at around 11.15pm on Saturday.

Trucks from Rakaia and Ashburton scrambled to the scene.

Emergency services arrived to find an adult deceased and a child in critical condition.

But this morning, police said: “The child sadly died in hospital on Sunday afternoon.

“The deaths with be referred to the Coroner, and the fire is not thought to be suspicious.”

A fire investigator visited the scene yesterday.

It comes after a double-fatal house fire in the Auckland suburb of Bucklands Beach last week.

Police say the early morning fire last Thursday, which claimed the lives of an 11-year-old boy and a 36-year-old father-of-two, was “deliberately lit”.

Investigators say the blaze was started with an accelerant inside the home on Murvale Drive at 2.30am while the occupants were asleep.

A homicide investigation into the Bucklands Beach blaze is ongoing.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.