Mount Maunganui: Horror landslide strikes popular campsite with multiple children reported missing – as desperate screams for help from a buried toilet block go quiet after 15 minutes

Australian tourists faced a devastating landslide that destroyed a popular campsite on New Zealand’s North Island, with scores of children among the casualties.

Shocked campers felt a violent jolt and heard heartbreaking screams when a landslide struck Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park at about 9.30am on Thursday.

Caravans, tents, vehicles and toiletries were destroyed due to the slide caused by record rainfall in recent days. A caravan was thrown into nearby hot pools.

When desperate screams were heard under the rubble, which became silent after 15 minutes, surrounding citizens and passersby rushed to the roof of the toilet block and rushed to help.

The campsite was evacuated and people were urged to stay away from the area; Emergency response teams began desperately searching for those feared to be trapped.

Police Area Commander Inspector Tim Anderson said the number of missing people was in ‘single figures’, adding that ‘it is possible we will find someone alive’.

Police and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell confirmed that many children were among the missing.

Mark Tangney was among the first rescuers to arrive on the scene after hearing screams and seeing people running from the campsite.

Many children are among those feared missing at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park

Mount Maunganui (pictured) on New Zealand’s North Island is a popular holiday destination

“There were six or eight other men on the roof of the toilet block with tools trying to lift the roof because we could hear people shouting ‘help us, help us, get us out of here’,” Mr Tangney told the New Zealand Herald.

‘We drove heavily for about half an hour and after 15 minutes we could no longer hear the trapped people.

The crushed toilet block fell onto the caravans, 20 meters from where it was originally located.

“We could hear people below screaming for help, so I wanted to help until the rescue team got there,” Mr Tangney said.

Sonny Worrall, from the NSW Hunter Valley, was among dozens of holidaymakers caught up in the chaos and described it as the scariest moment of his life.

He was swimming in the nearby hot pools when he heard a tree crack.

“I looked behind me and there was a huge landslide coming,” he told Australian TVNZ.

‘I turned around and had to jump out of my seat and run as fast as I could. When I looked back, a caravan was coming right behind me.

‘Everything happened at once. I was afraid for my life. ‘People were panicking everywhere.’

Rescuers were ordered to temporarily halt due to safety concerns amid fears of a second slide.

No one has been rescued from the wreckage yet.

‘We’re passing right away. [the night] “Until we rescue everyone,” Fire and Emergency New Zealand commander William Park told reporters.

‘This was a significant landslide and the priority was life safety.

Landslide caused great damage to caravans, caravans and vehicles

The cause of the landslide was the record rainfall in recent days.

‘A complex and high-risk environment.’

Fisherman Alister Hardy heard ‘the thunder and the crackling of the trees’, then looked up and saw ‘the whole hillside collapsed’.

‘There were people running and screaming and I saw people being shot. There are people trapped,” he told the NZ Herald.

Camper Carly Morley added: ‘The upper toilet block has been removed along with a number of caravans.

‘They’ve all slid down the hot pools… there are helicopters, surf lifesavers out there helping and at the moment they’re just trying to cut through the toilet block.’

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said his government was doing everything to support those affected.

‘The whole country is grateful to emergency responders, Defense Force personnel and everyone who puts themselves in harm’s way to keep Kiwis safe,’ he tweeted.

‘We continue to encourage people in affected areas to follow the advice of local authorities.’

More than 200km north of Auckland, Mount Maunganui is a popular holiday destination famous for its extinct volcano, a sacred Maori site with ocean-view hiking trails.

This comes after Tauranga, the city closest to Mount Maunganui, received 295mm in the 30 hours to 6am on Thursday.

While the search for unknown persons continues, the public was called to stay away from the area.

Large areas of the North Island were devastated by torrential rain on Wednesday as meteorologists MetService issued a rare red weather warning for ‘threat to life’ and local emergency in several areas.

At Warkworth, near Auckland, a man in his 40s was swept away by his car in the overflowing Mahurangi River, while a passenger managed to get to safety.

While police continue their search for the missing driver on Thursday, rescue efforts are continuing for local people stranded further east in the Tairawhiti district.

People were trapped on rooftops in Te Araroa and helicopter pilot Mark Law, who took part in rescue efforts following the deadly Whakaari-White Island volcanic eruption in 2019, told Radio NZ he was helping carry out checks in the area.

Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after their home was struck by a landslide, with one seriously injured, according to local MP Tom Rutherford.

Thousands of people were also left without power in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti following the storm and floods.