Teen suffers burns to 50pc of body

A 16-year-old is in a critical condition after suffering burns to 50 per cent of his body in Tauranga early this morning.

Emergency services were called to a house in suburban Greerton about 3am after the teenager was engulfed in flames, Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier of Tauranga CIB said.

He was taken to Tauranga Hospital before being airlifted to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital about 7am.

Police were talking to a large number of family members present at the house to establish how the teenager came to be on fire.

"We're just slowly making our way through the circumstances there before we can comment really on how it happened," Mr Brazier said.

Police have conducted a scene examination and were keeping an open mind as to whether there were any suspicious circumstances.

Nobody else was being sought in relation to the incident.

- NZPA