Name of fatal burns victim released

Police have released the name of a Hawkes Bay woman who died after receiving severe burns during a domestic dispute in Whakatu on Christmas Day.

Amelia Koriana Whatarau, 42, suffered burns to the upper half of her body and died in Middlemore Hospital's Burns Unit on Sunday.

Initial results from a post mortem examination indicate she died as the result of her injuries.

The woman's 49-year-old partner is being treated in Lower Hutt Hospital for burns to his hands and arms during the incident.

Emergency services were called to the couple's home on Christmas Day about 7pm after neighbours reported hearing "screams that somebody was on fire"after a large cloud of black smoke was seen rising from the backyard where the woman and her partner lived with their daughters.

- Hawkes Bay Today

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