Two dead and several missing after landslides hit New Zealand campground and house with rescue efforts underway
At least one young girl is among those unaccounted for.
Two people are dead and several more remain missing in New Zealand after landslides hit a campground and a house, officials said on Thursday.
Listen to this article
Emergency services were called to the slide at the base of Mount Maunganui on New Zealand's North Island after 9.30am.
The rubble hit Beachside Holiday Park in a town named after the extinct volcano.
Another landslide hit a house overnight in the nearby Bay of Plenty community. According to news outlets in New Zealand, two bodies were recovered from a house that was damaged by a landslide.
Crews have been trying to rescue people buried in rubble, as several people, including at least one young girl, are missing.
The national fire authority hasn't heard any signs of life from under the slip since this morning. No one has been rescued from the slip so far.
Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said the number of people missing was in the "single figures".
Read more: Starmer to meet Danish PM after telling PMQs he will 'not yield' to Trump over Greenland
Read more: Davos evacuated as authorities hunt source of 'strange smell making people cough'
Megan Stiffler, the deputy national commander for the Urban Search and Rescue team, said in a statement that rescuers are "carefully removing" debris and heavy machinery is on site.
"This is a complex and high-risk environment, and our teams are working to achieve the best possible outcome while keeping everyone safe. The teams will be operating overnight until the search is complete," she said.
"Our highest priority is in the Bay of Plenty operations. I’d like to acknowledge the families impacted by what’s happened. All our thoughts are with them tonight."
Authorities in the harbourside city of Tauranga are warning residents of contamination in stormwater.
"Always assume that floodwater is contaminated with farm run-off, animal and human sewage and chemicals," the Tauranga City Council wrote on Facebook.
New Zealand's government is doing "everything we can to support those impacted", its Prime Minister Chris Luxon said in a post on X.
"We are standing with these local communities in the response – and we will stand with them in the recovery too," he wrote, adding that he has spoken to several mayors about the "dangerous weather in their regions".