Several people, including children, were reported missing in New Zealand's north island on Thursday after a landslide struck a coastal campsite amid heavy rain that caused evacuations of people to safety, road closures and widespread power outages.
Rescue workers continued searching after a landslide swept through a campsite in Mount Maunganui, a popular tourist area on New Zealand’s northern coast.
The incident occurred at about 9:30 a.m. local time, when heavy rain triggered a collapse that sent mud and debris crashing into parts of the campsite.
Hundreds of families at the campsite were evacuated to safety as emergency services worked to locate anyone still missing.
Witness Nix Jaques told Radio New Zealand she heard an extremely loud noise moments before seeing land slide down onto buildings. She said vehicles were pushed aside, and an ablutions block was hit while people were believed to be inside, adding that a campervan carrying a family was also shifted.
Australian tourist Sonny Worrall said it was very frightening.
“This huge tree crack and all this dirt come off behind me. And then I looked behind me and this huge landslide coming down. And I’m still shaking from it now. Then I turned around and tried to jump out from my seat as fast as I could and just run," he explained.
"Then I dived across to the other pool and looking behind me, and there was a caravan. A caravan coming like right behind me. It was like the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Worrall added.
Canadian tourist Dion Siluch said he was very lucky to escape when he did.
“We were in the massage room, which is the closest side to the mountain, and the whole room just started shaking violently. "It was like a freight train driving right past you, and we could not grasp what has just happened," he said.
"We kept massaging until we heard ‘emergency, emergency’, and we looked outside the window and there was a caravan in the hot pool, and that's kind of our first sight on scene of what happened,” Siluch added.
Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said it was still too early to know how many people were missing.
"I can't be drawn on numbers, it is possible we could find someone alive. So I can’t be drawn on numbers, other than to say it’s single figures.”
Fire and Emergency Commander William Park said first responders detected signs of life beneath the debris but were forced to withdraw because of the risk of further ground movement.
He said members of the public and fire crews heard voices shortly after arriving, but the unstable conditions required an immediate evacuation of people from the site.
Local media quoted Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell as saying children were among those missing. He said helicopters had been deployed to assist with search and rescue operations.
“We are still in response mode and that includes the tragedy that has unfolded behind us in the last few hours,” he said.
Mitchell said rapid responses helped limit the impact, saying there was time to prepare before the worst conditions hit.
Heavy rain affected much of the eastern seaboard of the North Island.
Elsewhere in the region, another landslide struck a house in neighbouring Papamoa, leaving two people missing, police said.
In a separate incident north of Auckland, a person was reported missing after being washed away in a vehicle on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on X that he was actively monitoring the situation across the country, including in Mount Maunganui.
The New Zealand Transport Authority reported closures across Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, with some small communities cut off due to road damage.
New Zealand forecaster MetService said all weather warnings for the North Island had been lifted as the tropical low moved east.
Some warnings remain in place for the South Island, but they are expected to ease later on Thursday.
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