Rescue workers in New Zealand searched through the night on Thursday for several missing people, including children, after landslides triggered by heavy rain struck a popular campsite and nearby residential areas across the North Island, killing two people and causing widespread damage.
The most serious incident occurred at a campsite at Mount Maunganui, a major tourist destination, where rescuers used helicopters, search-and-rescue dogs and earthmoving equipment to claw through debris after a landslide swept through parts of the campground.
Homes were evacuated and roads closed as rain lashed much of the eastern seaboard of the North Island, snapping power links to thousands.
Rescuers at the campsite said operations would continue overnight.“This is a complex and high-risk environment,” said Megan Stiffler, a fire and emergency services official. “The teams will be operating overnight until the search is complete.”
Police said the number of people missing at the campsite was in the “single figures.”“It is possible we could find someone alive,” police superintendent Tim Anderson told a press conference.
One witness, Nix Jaques, told Radio NZ she heard a loud noise just before the landslide.“I turned around and I could see the land coming down onto some structures,” she said.
“It came down on an ablutions block - I believe there were some people in the showers - and it shifted a campervan, there was a family with a campervan.”
Emergency officials said early signs of life had been detected in the rubble, but crews were forced to withdraw due to fears of further ground movement.
Fire and Emergency commander William Pike said members of the public and first responders initially heard voices.
“My understanding was members of the public ... tried to get into the rubble and did hear some voices,” he said.“Shortly after our initial crew arrived, we withdrew everyone from the site, due to the possible movement of the slip,” Pike added.
Local media cited Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell as saying children were among those missing. Helicopters were deployed to assist the search effort.
Elsewhere in the Bay of Plenty region, police said they recovered the bodies of two people after a landslide engulfed a suburban home in Papamoa. In a separate incident, a third person remained missing after a vehicle was washed away north of Auckland on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was supporting affected communities.“We are standing with these local communities in the response - and we will stand with them in the recovery too,” he said in a post on X.
Transport authorities reported road closures in Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, with some small communities cut off due to damaged roads. Media said about 8,000 people remained without power, down from 16,000 earlier.
Weather officials said all warnings for the North Island had been lifted as the tropical low moved east.