Six people have been confirmed missing in a landslide that tore through a busy campsite on New Zealand’s North Island, as emergency services continue to comb through the rubble.
Heavy rain triggered the landslide on Mount Maunganui on the island’s east coast at 9.30am (local time) on Thursday, bringing down earth and debris onto the busy campsite in the city of Tauranga where families were enjoying the summer holidays.
Police District Commander Tim Anderson told a news conference that authorities were working to contact three more people in addition to the six confirmed missing.
“We don’t believe they are here, but we still need to do that investigation,” he said Friday.
Officials have reported no deaths at the campground.
Two people were killed in a landslide in the neighboring suburb of Papamoa on Thursday, police said. Chinese Ambassador Wang Xiaolong said on X that someone was a Chinese citizen.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited areas affected by recent flooding on Friday.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale told Radio New Zealand that although search and rescue teams had continued to work at the site through the night, no progress had been made in finding missing people.
Images showed recreational vehicles and at least one structure at the campground crushed.
“We’re here with the families, and as you can imagine, just that uncertainty of where they are and when we can have an outcome is quite difficult,” Drysdale said.
He said the area remained volatile and Emergency Situations and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell told Radio New Zealand it was a “challenging environment”.
Mitchell said police were checking to see if some campers might have left without notifying authorities.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the New Zealand Herald that the scale of the disaster and risks at the site could delay rescue efforts.
Heavy rain has drenched much of the North Island’s east coast this week, causing extensive damage. Source: MONKEY / Cameron Avery
“It could take days, and we understand that everyone is worried and waiting for their loved ones and for answers, but we also have to be very careful,” he said.
The landslide occurred after heavy rain drenched much of the North Island’s east coast this week, causing widespread damage.
Roads remained closed in some of the worst affected areas, leaving some North Island towns inaccessible by land.
The civil defense organization in Tairāwhiti district said people were walking over landslides to get water and food from welfare centers and warned about this amid fears of further landslides.
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