Two dead and nine missing after landslides hit house and campground in New Zealand | New Zealand

Emergency crews were searching for victims of a landslide that destroyed a house and a crowded campsite on New Zealand’s North Island, killing at least two people.

Police said as many as nine people, including children, may be missing in the landslides that occurred on Thursday. Among the campers were families enjoying their summer school vacation. The footage showed recreational vehicles and at least one structure being crushed.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong, Published on X It was stated that one of the dead was a Chinese citizen.

“Our hearts go out to the families affected at this difficult time,” he said. “We are very grateful for the immediate assistance provided by Mfat and New Zealand Police when we contacted them yesterday.”

The first attack hit a house in the Welcome Bay area on New Zealand’s North Island at 4.50am, police said. Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said two people escaped from the house and the bodies of the two people trapped inside were found hours later.

Later that morning, emergency services were called to a second slide at the base of nearby Mount Maunganui. Debris crashed into Beachside Holiday Park in the town named after the extinct volcano. Images showed vehicles, travel trailers and a social facility block crushed under debris.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was due to visit areas affected by the recent floods on Friday.

Local mayor Mahe Drysdale told Radio New Zealand that search and rescue teams continued to work at the campsite throughout the night, but no progress had been made in finding the missing people.

“This is really difficult and we’re here with the families and as you can imagine the uncertainty of where they are and when we’re going to get closure is quite difficult,” Drysdale said.

He said the region was unstable. Mitchell told Radio New Zealand it was a tough and tough environment.

Police were checking to see if some campers had left the area without notifying authorities, the official said.

Mitchell expressed his condolences to the families of the dead on social media.

The landslide occurred after heavy rains earlier this week soaked much of the North Island’s east coast and caused widespread damage.

New Zealand Civil Defense warned on Thursday morning that landslides could occur without warning and advised the public to watch out for rockfalls, sinking soil at the bottom of slopes, jammed doors or windows or gaps in window frames.

In the agency’s post on Facebook, “Quickly move out of the landslide path. If the building you are in is in danger, evacuate.”

Roads remained closed in some of the worst-hit areas and some North Island towns became inaccessible by land. The civil defense organization in Tairawhiti District stated in its social media post that people were crossing the landslides to collect water and food from social assistance centers and warned against this due to fears of more landslides.

Police Chief Tim Anderson said the number of missing people was in “single figures.”

No survivors or bodies were found by late Thursday from the Mount Maunganui wreckage, where dogs were used to sniff out human victims, Mitchell said.

“There was a shower block and a sort of combined shower block-kitchen block and there were people using that when the slide came and those are some of the blocks we’re now working hard to try and save,” Mitchell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Further north, near Warkworth, a man was missing after floodwaters swept him off the road on Wednesday morning as heavy rain hit large parts of the North Island, a police statement said.

Luxon urged residents in affected areas to follow local authorities’ safety advice during extreme conditions.

“Extreme weather continues to cause hazardous conditions across the North Island. The government is currently doing everything we can to support those affected,” Luxon said on social media.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand commander William Pike said some signs of life were seen immediately after the Mount Maunganui slide.

“People were trying to get into the debris and heard some noises,” Pike told reporters. “Our first fire crew arrived and… heard the same thing. Shortly after our first crew arrived, we pulled everyone out of the area due to possible movement and shifting.”

Australian tourist Sonny Worrall said he heard and then saw the landslide while lazing in the hot pool at the campsite.

“I look back and there’s a huge landslide coming. And I’m still shaking right now,” Worrall told New Zealand’s 1News news service. “I turned around and had to jump out of my seat and run as fast as I could.”

He looked back to see a pile of rubble carrying a travel trailer behind him.

“This was like the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” Worrall said.

With Associated Press and Reuters