A fire has engulfed Māori iwi radio station, Tautoko FM in Mangamuka, Far North.
Earlier this evening, the small community of Mangamuka were in shock, as their local iwi radio station burnt to the ground.
Pictures from locals at the scene, including Maki Herbert, depict the devastating blaze, to which fire services made it in time to stop surrounding buildings from being burnt down as well.
Lisa Harris, who was also at the scene this evening, says it's a huge loss to the community. Harris explained that, "The fire started around 6:30pm."
By about 9pm she says, "The fire service had the fire under control, but Mangamuka is out of power."
She also said that the fire service has not confirmed or revealed any further information to the community yet.
Tautoko FM celebrated its 21st birthday on 28 November 2009 for which refurbishments were made to the building. Its first studio went live in 1988, and since then has been a pillar in the community.
The official Tautoko FM Mangamuka facebook page posted an update after the fire confirming that no-one was physically hurt and that the cause is unknown at present.
Te Kāea will bring you more information from Mangamuka tomorrow.