New Zealand landslide: rescue efforts called off for six people buried in disaster | New Zealand
Efforts to save six people killed in a landslide at a holiday park in New Zealand ended on Saturday as police began a rescue operation.
Police Commissioner Tim Anderson said human remains were unearthed on Friday night beneath mountains of soil and rubble that fell on a campsite in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, adding that it could take several days to locate all the victims due to unstable ground.
Anderson said it was “heartbreaking” that six people, including a 15-year-old boy, had not been heard from after the caravans, caravans and shower block were destroyed by a landslide caused by heavy rain.
He said it was now “very unlikely” that more than six people would be trapped under the landslide.
“There is still a lot of mud and other aspects [around the site] so my primary concern today is actually the safety of the personnel working on it,” he said Saturday. “There are really strict parameters on those working in the field right now.”
The remains will be transported to a morgue in Hamilton. Chief coroner Anna Tutton warned the identification process could be “painful” and “lengthy”.
A series of vigils have been held in the resort town in the northern part of the country for the past two days in the hope that search and rescue personnel will be successful.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday that “every New Zealander is waiting for a miracle” and that the move to a rescue operation was “the news we all feared”.
“Police have confirmed that there were deaths at the campsite and that no one survived, so the rescue operation carried out there is now in the recovery phase.
“To the families who have lost loved ones, every New Zealander mourns with you.”
More bad weather is expected in the area on Saturday, with possible storms and hail potentially hindering the rescue operation at the campsite.
New Zealand authorities are facing questions about why people were not evacuated after reports of landslides at the campsite and neighboring areas early on Thursday.
Two people died in a separate landslide in the neighboring port city of Tauranga on Thursday. Officials said one of the dead was a Chinese citizen.
