Holiday park landslide in New Zealand leaves several missing

Wellington, Jan 22:  Several people, including children, are missing after a large landslide struck a holiday park at the base of Mount Maunganui in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region on Thursday.

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said search and rescue efforts were continuing at the Beachside Holiday Park.

Mark Mitchell described the event as a 'tragedy', telling reporters that "parents and the husband of some of the people that we're currently trying to rescue" were in the campground.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand commander William Pike said rescuers initially heard voices from under the debris but none since, and no survivors had yet been found.

The slip swept through campervans, cars, tents, hot pools, and a shower block at around 9:30 a.m. local time, triggering evacuations across the site. Emergency services have been working to locate anybody who remains in the area, Xinhua news agency reported.

The landslip followed Tauranga's heaviest single day of rainfall on record, with 270mm falling in the 24 hours to 9am.

Heavy rain and flooding battered parts of the North Island overnight, leaving thousands without power and isolating some communities on the North Island's east coast and in Northland.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged residents in affected areas to heed local authorities' safety advice during the extreme conditions.

“Extreme weather continues to cause dangerous conditions across the North Island. Right now, the government is doing everything we can to support those impacted,” Luxon posted on social media.

New Zealand has been battered by destructive storms and flooding this week, with the Mount Maunganui area recording its wettest day on record with two-and-a-half months’ worth of rain in 12 hours.

Mayor Mahe Drysdale said it was a “deeply distressing event, and our priority right now is the safety and wellbeing of those involved”.

--IANS