DNA testing has identified eight people who died in the fire that gutted the Shoreline building on November 16, 2006 and the youngest was a boy of 13 years old, the Tongan Police confirmed today.

Previously it was believed that seven people had died in the building after it was set alight by arsonists, but DNA tests have now identified the remains of eight people.

He said that the eight dead were all males, ranging in age from 13 years old to 40 years old. They include two who were identified in November and December last year. The first remains to be identified was that of a married man from the village of Tofoa; and then in December the remains of a 20-year-old man from Fasi mo e Afi, Nuku'alofa was identified.

The Acting Police Commander said that to respect the privacy of the families involved he would not release names of the remaining six deceased, but he confirmed that four of the remains had been released to the families for burial. By last week two remains were still kept at the Vaiola Hospital mortuary.