Update in search for six people presumed dead in New Zealand landslide
Two teenagers are among the missing
Authorities in New Zealand announced on Monday that the search for six people, presumed dead following a devastating landslide at a popular beach campsite, is expected to continue for several days.
The massive slip occurred at Beachside Holiday Park, nestled at the foot of Mount Maunganui (known locally as Mauao), after heavy rain from a summer storm battered the North Island on Thursday.
Among the missing, aged between 15 and 71, are a Swedish tourist and a teenager originally from Italy.
Efforts to locate them were suspended over the weekend due to fears of unstable ground, but resumed on Monday with recovery teams facing dangerous conditions.
“We’re just holding out for the weather to improve because moisture is the enemy at this point,” Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said.
“The ground is saturated and what we need is days of fine weather.”
A wave of mud from the mountain hit the campsite, which is in a picturesque beachside spot.
Images showed vehicles, travel trailers and an amenities block crushed by debris.
On Thursday, rescuers said they had heard voices beneath the rubble, but by Saturday, authorities said they did not believe that any of those missing had survived.
They have been named as Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50; Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20; Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71; Susan Doreen Knowles, 71; Sharon Maccanico, 15; and Max Furse-Kee, 15.
The horror unfolded at the beachside campsite during New Zealand’s peak summer holiday period. Parts of the North Island recorded record rainfall during the deluge, including the city of Tauranga, where Mount Maunganui is located, which registered its wettest 24-hour period since 1910.
Along with the six missing at the campsite, the storm killed three others. Also on Thursday, two people were killed when a landslide buried a house in nearby Pāpāmoa.
A day earlier, a 47-year-old man from Kiribati was swept away by floodwaters while driving north of New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland. His body was found on Saturday.
The unusually wet weather prompted questions about whether evacuation orders should have been given before the campsite tragedy.
The fire service said on Monday that it had delivered a warning from a member of the public about a slip near the holiday park to the local Tauranga City Council, the landowner of the site, four hours before the fatal landslide.
The council said it would hold an independent inquiry into the episode.
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks