Wellington baby's death at emergency housing site being treated as unexplained
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
A baby’s death at an emergency housing site in central Wellington is being treated as unexplained.
Detective Sergeant Steve Wescott said an autopsy was scheduled to take place on Thursday and police were continuing to make inquiries.
“While the death is not being treated as suspicious at this stage of the investigation, is it currently unexplained and police will be carrying out thorough inquiries to understand the circumstances,” he said.
City Missioner Murray Edridge said his staff were contacted by a mother on Wednesday morning, who had concerns about the health of her child.
When staff arrived the baby “was not able to be resuscitated”, he said.
“By anybody's description this is a tragedy.”
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Edridge said he understood the woman was a resident at emergency housing in Manners St in central Wellington.
He said the mother was not a City Mission client, and it was not known yet why she contacted the mission, rather than emergency services.
A police spokeswoman said police were called to a sudden death at a Manners St property about 9.40am on Wednesday.
Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Gagau Annadale-Stone said one of its social service providers was on site to provide pastoral care and support.
“We will be checking-in on all our clients at The Setup on Manners today to ensure they are OK,” she said.
The Set Up on Manners owner Alex Cassels said the death was “incredibly upsetting” and staff were providing ongoing support to the family.
Wellington Free Ambulance spokeswoman Emma Harrison said the organisation was called to the scene at 9.39am.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said its staff helped ambulance staff with a “medical call” in Manners St on Wednesday morning.
An Oranga Tamariki spokeswoman said it was not in a position to comment.