A dark vehicle backs into the driveway of the house on Sunday afternoon. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
In the "midst of unimaginable grief", friends are raising money for the family reeling from Saturday's fatal housefire at Sanson.
Police have confirmed that four people - an adult and three children - died in the fire, which closed off a section of State Highway One for several hours.
A Givealittle page set up by friends of the mother raised more than $80,000 in five hours.
The page described the fire as a "devastating loss beyond measure" and their goal was to provide the family with the "space and security needed to grieve in solitude".
"In the midst of this unimaginable grief, she also lost her home and everything she owned. She is facing the hardest journey possible, stripped of her physical security, while navigating the deepest emotional pain."
Neighbour describes seeing the fire as it happened
A neighbour told RNZ he was working at his home yesterday, when someone noticed smoke from the nearby property.
"We all came out to have a look and we saw a horrific amount of smoke coming from about 300 metres away, where the neighbour's house is - pretty thick black billowing smoke.
"It was a very, very windy day and we knew it wasn't any kind of controlled fire. We knew it was some sort of what we considered to be a house fire at that stage."
He said, over an hour, many firefighters turned up, attempting to put the blaze out.
An hour after it started, the blaze and billowing smoke was still visible. He believed it took two hours for firefighters to put the fire out.
"They were still dousing it down and there was just very slight wisps of smoke coming from the property two hours after it started."
He said State Highway One near the property did not open until 8pm Saturday.
The neighbour said that, during the fire, he was "pretty shocked" at what was happening before his eyes.
"Nothing we could do about it and just a feeling of kind of despair, I guess just watching what was going on.
"Knowing that a young family was potentially losing everything they owned and knowing that is going to be a very, very hard place to come back from.
"Just the thought of not knowing whether everybody was alright or not, and subsequent to that we found out, that isn't the case, which has made things 10 times worse."
Search for body of third child
Police Inspector Ross Grantham said the bodies of two children have been recovered from the scene this evening, with family present to bless them with karakia.
"Work is ongoing to locate the body of a third child, while the body of an adult has already been removed."
He said the family were devastated by the loss of their loved ones.
"They are thankful and very grateful for the support and concern they are receiving from the community.
"Investigators will tomorrow focus on recovering the third child, and completing a meticulous and thorough scene examination."
He said police were not seeking anyone in relation to the fire.
"Our investigators remain determined to find answers to as many questions as we can."
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