Mount Maunganui landslide latest: Race to reach survivors after deadly floods hit popular campsite and homes
At least two people have died after landslides struck a house and a holiday campground on New Zealand’s North Island following days of record-breaking rain, as emergency crews raced to rescue people trapped.
Police said the first landslide hit a house in Welcome Bay at about 4.50am on Thursday (3.50pm GMT on Wednesday). Two people escaped, but the bodies of two others trapped inside were later recovered, emergency management minister Mark Mitchell said.
Hours later, a second landslide hit Beachside Holiday Park, at the base of Mount Maunganui, crushing vehicles, campervans and an amenities block. Police said the number of people unaccounted for there was in the “single figures”, with sniffer dogs deployed to search the rubble.
“There was a shower block … and there were people using that at the time the slide came through,” Mitchell told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said early searches detected voices from beneath the debris but crews were later forced to withdraw because of unstable ground.
Further north, a man remains missing after being swept away by floodwaters near Warkworth on Wednesday.
