Search for NZ landslide victims stopped over safety

New Zealand authorities have suspended rescue efforts for victims of a landslide that hit a busy campsite on the country’s North Island.

It is estimated that six people, including two teenagers, died when a landslide triggered by heavy rains on Mount Maunganui on the island’s east coast carried soil and debris through the area in the city of Tauranga, which was full of families on summer holidays, on Thursday.

Authorities are trying to identify the victims after human remains were found in the area on Saturday.

But police Chief Tim Anderson said a crack in the area caused rescue efforts to be halted Sunday.

“As a result of that, we had to lay off all of our staff,” Anderson told reporters in Mount Maunganui.

“We had to do this for the safety of everyone involved.”

He did not specify when the work would resume, saying officials were handling it “on a daily basis right now.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday it was “devastating to receive the news we all feared” after the rescue operation entered its recovery phase.

“To the families who have lost loved ones, every New Zealander mourns with you,” Luxon said on X.

Heavy rain this week caused another landslide in the neighboring suburb of Papamoa, killing two people.