Person dies in south Auckland house fire

One person has died in a blaze in a south Auckland house today from which another person was rescued.

It was not yet known whether the dead person was a man or woman.

Police said they were called to the fire at a house in Roscommon Road in Clendon, Manurewa at 2.30pm.

A female in her 40s was pulled from the burning house by passers-by. The woman was in a critical condition and had been transferred by ambulance from Middlemore to Auckland Hospital.

TV One reported that neighbours heard an explosion before the fire began in the two storey house and that the fire was intense.

TV3 said a couple lived in the house and the woman was a hairdresser who worked from home.

Police would like to speak to those persons who rescued the woman at the scene and to any witnesses who were in the vicinity of the fire.

A scene examination is being carried out to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire.

- NZPA