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New Zealand authorities announced on Monday that they were searching for six people. Presumed dead after devastating landslide The campground is expected to last several days at a popular beach campground.
huge slip A summer storm hit the North Island on Thursday, with the incident occurring at a beachfront holiday park at the base of Mount Maunganui, known locally as Mauao.
among Missing personAged between 15 and 71, they were a Swedish tourist and a teenager from Italy.
The search for them was suspended over the weekend due to concerns about unstable ground, but resumed on Monday, leaving rescue teams facing dangerous conditions.
“We’re just waiting for the weather to improve because moisture is the enemy at this time,” said Police Chief Tim Anderson.
“The ground is saturated and what we need is good weather.”
A stream of mud from the mountains hit the campsite in a picturesque seaside location.
Images showed vehicles, travel trailers and a facility area crushed by debris.
On Thursday, rescue workers said they heard sounds beneath the rubble, but by Saturday authorities said they did not believe any of the missing people were alive.
Their names are Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50; Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20; Jacqueline Suzanne Wheeler, 71; Susan Doreen Knowles, 71; Sharon Macaniko, 15; and Max Firth-Key, 15.
The horrific incident occurred at a seaside campsite during the height of New Zealand’s summer holiday season. Parts of the North Island recorded record rainfall during the floods, including the city of Tauranga, home to Mount Maunganui, which recorded its wettest 24-hour period since 1910.
In addition to the six people missing from the campground, the storm killed three other people. Also on Thursday, two people died when a landslide in nearby Papamoa buried a house.
A day earlier, a 47-year-old man from Kiribati was swept away by floods while driving north of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. His body was discovered on Saturday.
The unusually wet weather has raised questions about whether an evacuation order should have been issued before the tragedy at the camp.
The fire service said on Monday a public warning about the landslide near the holiday park was issued to the local Tauranga City Council – the landowner at the site – four hours before the fatal landslide.
The commission said it would conduct an independent investigation into the incident.