A man died when a garage on a rural property near Hokitika caught fire on Saturday morning.
The fire service says it was called by neighbours who noticed the fire at 4.20am, after an explosion.
A garage at the back of the Kaniere Rd property was well alight, with the windows blown out by the heat of the fire.
A body was discovered in the building, which contained motorbikes and mechanical equipment.
Police say the person will be formally identified after a post-mortem on Sunday.
An investigation has begun into what caused the explosion.
