Police are investigating a house fire at a property on View St, Manapōuri overnight.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) crews from Manapōuri and Te Anau rushed to the single-story home about 3.40am today.
Inspector Mike Bowman said police are working with Fenz to find out how many people were at the address when the fire started.
Fenz said in a statement the house was well alight when crews arrived but the fire was now extinguished.
Hato Hone St John was also in attendance.
“We responded with one operations manager, but our services were not required,” a St John statement said.
No other buildings were at risk.
Southland District councillor Sarah Greaney told the Herald “it is just tragic”.
“In a small community there’s a much broader impact because very often our firefighters are close to the people involved,” Greaney said.
“My thoughts are with everyone and anyone who has been impacted, these are traumatic situations for anybody to have to go through.”
The cause of the blaze is unexplained and police, including the Criminal Investigations Branch, will continue to have a presence at the scene.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.