UPDATED 7.43am: Fire crews are battling a large fire in a block of flats in Christchurch this morning.

A Fire Service spokeswoman said a unit in the two-storey block in Rutherford St, Woolston was engulfed in fire.

“The rear flat is totally involved in fire,” she said.

Four fire crews  were now working to save the rest of the block.

Everyone inside had managed to get out safely, she said.

The fire service spokeswoman said the fire broke out just after 6.10am with many people raising the alarm.

Firefighters were focused stopping the blaze claiming the entire property, she said.

The fire had led to a section of State Highway 74A being closed between Ferry Rd and Barton St.

Motorists were asked to use Ferry Rd and Radley St if they were travelling through the suburb.