House fire victim lived alone, police believe

Police now believe a Chinese student who died in a house fire in Auckland on Monday lived alone.

The fire at a Blockhouse Bay Rd property in Avondale that killed Xu Zhou, 24, has been treated as suspicious since an accelerant was found there.

Police inquiries, which have been slowed by language difficulties, initially led detectives to believe Mr Xu had a flatmate.

Inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Benefield said the near-total destruction of the house was also slowing investigations. Police had yet to establish what caused the inferno.

The accelerant might have been taken into the house without the intention of it being lit.