Police are working to establish the identity of a person found dead inside a burning vehicle in east Auckland.
Emergency services were called to Barry Curtis Park in Flat Bush at about 8.10pm on Saturday after receiving reports of a vehicle on fire in the car park.
Initial reports indicated a body may have been inside the vehicle and members of the public were asked to avoid the area.
Cordons were put in place at the intersections of Chapel Road with Ormiston Road and Stancombe Road.
Police issued an update on Sunday morning confirming a dead body was found inside the vehicle.
A large blue forensic tent was placed over the vehicle and a scene examination carried out throughout the day.
The vehicle and the victim were removed from the scene on Sunday afternoon after the scene examination was finished. The site was blessed and released back to the public.
Police say the vehicle, believed to be a Mazda sedan, will be subject to further investigation.
Inquiries are ongoing to identify the person found inside the vehicle and a post mortem was to take place on Monday.
Counties Manukau Police detective senior sergeant Natalie Nelson told the Times the person’s death is being treated as unexplained.
“Formal identification is expected to take some time due to the circumstances.”
Nelson says police have “a number of enquiries to make”.
People with information on the incident are asked to phone police on 105 and quote file number 210306/4193.
Alternatively, phone the free and anonymous Crimestoppers tip-off line on 0800 555 111.
