Several unaccounted for after landslide at New Zealand campground

Rescue teams are searching for missing people after major landslides struck coastal communities on New Zealand’s North Island, damaging a popular holiday park and nearby homes amid record rainfall.

The largest landslide hit Thursday morning at about 9:30 a.m. local time at the base of Mount Maunganui, a coastal tourist area in the city of Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island, according to police.

“It’s been a challenging and difficult 24 hours for a big chunk of the eastern seaboard here in the North Island,” Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said at a press conference.

Mitchells said the operation at the Mount Maunganui holiday park is still a rescue effort, with first responders working as quickly as possible while assessing land stability to ensure it is safe to continue.

Fire Commander William Pike said a significant landslip occurred at the base of the mount and warned the scene remains active and high risk. He said urban search and rescue teams are on site conducting specialized searches in what he described as a complex environment.

Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said he could not provide specific numbers for missing people or casualties while rescue efforts continue. He said the number of people unaccounted for is in the single figures and added that it remains possible someone could still be found alive.

Anderson said the landslide came through the back of the holiday park and described the event as impossible to forecast.

According to the New Zealand Herald, several people, including children, are believed to be unaccounted for after the slide destroyed parts of the campground. The outlet reported that people were heard screaming for help from inside a toilet block as others attempted a rescue from the roof, before the voices went quiet.

The newspaper also reported that two people are missing after a separate slip struck a house in nearby Pāpāmoa, where two occupants were able to escape.

The outlet said the region recorded its wettest day on record, with roughly two-and-a-half months’ worth of rain falling in about 12 hours.