Police have ended rescue efforts and moved to recovering bodies after a landslide buried campers at a holiday park in Mount Maunganui.
Operations to save at least six people trapped by a landslide at a holiday park in Mount Maunganui have concluded, with police now focusing on recovering human remains. The mudslide struck the campsite on Thursday, when a large mass of dirt and debris fell onto the area.
Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said it may take several days to locate all bodies.
Anderson described it as “heartbreaking” that six people, including two teenagers, were still missing after camper vans, caravans and a shower block were buried following heavy rain. The missing, who are presumed dead, include one foreign national, 20-year-old Mans Loke Bernhardsson from Sweden.
The other victims are New Zealand nationals: Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50; Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71; Susan Doreen Knowles, 71; and 15-year-olds Sharon Maccanico and Max Furse-Kee.
Hope fades after days of searching
For two days, the holiday area in the north of the country hosted vigils, as people hoped search and rescue teams might find survivors. Anderson said it had become clear that survival was unlikely for those buried.
“This is heartbreaking news for us and obviously the families involved,” he told reporters on Saturday, calling the operation complex.
“There’s still a lot of mud and other aspects, so my primary consideration today is actually the safety of the staff working on it.
“There are really strict parameters around those that are working on site right now.”
Government response and wider impact
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon offered condolences and said families would receive support.
“Police have confirmed fatalities at the campground and the reality that no one would have been able to survive, therefore the rescue operation taking place there is now moving to a recovery,” he said in a statement.
“To the families who have lost loved ones – every New Zealander is grieving with you.”
Authorities are also facing questions over why evacuations did not take place after reports of a landslip at the campsite and nearby areas earlier on Thursday.
Two people also died in a separate landslide on Thursday in the neighbouring harbourside city of Tauranga. Officials said one of those killed was a Chinese national.
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