Fire at Auckland's Sky City see thousands evacuated

A major fire at the construction site of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) saw thousands of people evacuated from central Auckland yesterday.

The fire started just after 1pm on the roof of the SkyCity's new convention centre, which is still under construction.

Workers on the site were evacuated immediately but as the fire continued to rage SkyCity management decided to evacuate the entire precinct, including Auckland’s famous Sky Tower, the tallest building in the country.

With thick black smoke billowing across the city, 25 fire trucks were on the scene.

The blaze is believed to have been caused by a worker's blowtorch.

Great Britain’s Lions rugby league squad, who were on a day off preparing for their Test match against a Tongan Invitational XIII at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium on Saturday, were among those evacuated.

A spokesman noted “it all happened very quickly. Within an hour of being told to pack their bags we were on the coach out of Auckland.”

The squad, who had been due to train in Auckland on Wednesday, will now continue their preparations in Hamilton.