Women’s World Cup stars forced to flee New Zealand hotel after arson attack sparks ‘devastating’ blaze
The New Zealand women’s national team had to be temporarily evacuated from their hotel on Saturday night due to a fire.
After receiving an alert, emergency services were called to the Pullman Hotel in Auckland at 19:48.
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When they arrived at the scene, they found that the building was filled with smoke in several places due to fires.
Accordingly The New Zealand Heraldthe Football Ferns were evacuated down a stairwell before being sent to a nearby private restaurant.
They then had to wait to receive confirmation that they could return to their team base.
An official statement from New Zealand Football read: “New Zealand Football can confirm that the Football Ferns team and staff have been temporarily evacuated from the Pullman Hotel, their FIFA Women’s World Cup team base, due to a fire.”
“The entire team and staff are safe and accountable.”
New Zealand police later confirmed that a 34-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the fire.
A spokesman said: “A man has been arrested following a suspect fire at a building on Waterloo Quad, Auckland Central last night.
“The 34-year-old has been charged with burglary and arson and is due to appear in Auckland District Court on Monday.”
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On Sunday, New Zealand defender CJ Bott revealed some players encountered smoke while evacuating the hotel.
During a press conference, she said: “It was devastating and it definitely threw a spanner in the works for us.”
“It’s not ideal and it’s not a situation that anyone wants to be in.”
“Yes, one of the emergency exits was a little smokey, but most of us used the other safe exit and exited the building just fine.”
Gabi Rennie added: “We had really good security on board who gave us really good instructions and we all got along pretty well with it.”
“I think our team is pretty good at dealing with adversity. So it’s just another kind of test.”
The fire came just days after Auckland was rocked by a deadly gunfight that left two dead and six injured.