A search for 6 presumed dead in a New Zealand landslide is expected to take days
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A search for six people presumed killed in a landslide at one of New Zealand ’s most popular beach campsites is expected to take days, authorities said Monday.
Heavy rain caused the massive slip at Beachside Holiday Park, nestled at the foot of Mount Maunganui, as a summer storm swept down the North Island on Thursday. Those missing ranged in age from 15 to 71 and included a Swedish tourist and a teenager originally from Italy.
Work to find the missing was suspended at the weekend because of fears the ground remained unstable. The search resumed Monday as authorities said the recovery teams were working in dangerous conditions.
“We’re just holding out for the weather to improve because moisture is the enemy at this point,” police Supt. Tim Anderson said in a statement. “The ground is saturated and what we need is days of fine weather.”
A wave of mud from the mountain hit the campsite, which is in a picturesque beachside spot named after an extinct volcano. Images showed vehicles, travel trailers and an amenities block crushed by debris.
On Thursday, rescuers said they had heard voices beneath the rubble but by Saturday, authorities said they didn’t believe any of those missing had survived. They have been named as Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50; Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20; Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71; Susan Doreen Knowles, 71; Sharon Maccanico, 15; and Max Furse-Kee, 15.
The horror unfolded at the beachside campsite during New Zealand’s peak summer holiday period. Parts of the North Island recorded record rainfall during the deluge including the city of Tauranga, where Mount Maunganui is located, which registered its wettest 24 hour period since 1910.
Along with the six missing at the campsite, the storm killed three others. Also on Thursday, two people were killed when a landslide buried a house in nearby Papamoa. A day earlier, a 47-year-old man from Kiribati was swept away by floodwaters while driving in New Zealand’s far north. His body was found Saturday.
The unusually wet weather prompted questions about whether evacuation orders should have been given before the campsite tragedy. The fire service said Monday that it had delivered a warning from a member of the public about a slip near the holiday park to the local Tauranga City Council, the landowner of the site, four hours before the fatal landslide.
The council said it would hold an independent inquiry into the episode.
News
ITEMS FOUND ON THE RIVERBANK… Police searching for missing girl Sharon Granites in the Northern Territory have sealed off an area near the Todd River after finding clothing believed to be linked to the disappearance. Among them were: a distinctive yellow shirt believed to belong to suspect Jefferson Lewis and a piece of children’s clothing with SHOCKING DNA RESULTS
Children’s underwear, Jefferson Lewis’ shirt found as search for missing Sharon Granite grows desperate A pair of children’s underwear believed to be Sharon Granites’ and a shirt worn by her suspected abductor have been found, police have revealed, as the search for…
NT ABDUCTION MYSTERY: Police are urgently searching for 5-year-old Sharon Granites after she vanished from her home in the Northern Territory. What’s raising alarm is that one clue near the house suggests someone may have approached the property just minutes before she disappeared — a detail now driving the entire investigation 👀👇
Desperate search for five-year-old girl believed abducted from NT home Sharon vanished overnight from her home after being put to bed just hours earlier. A major search is underway after police revealed a five-year-old girl missing from her outback home in the Northern…
JUST IN: Search teams combing the banks of the Todd River in the hunt for missing five-year-old Sharon Granites have uncovered several items believed to be linked to the case — including a doona cover and a yellow shirt thought to belong to suspected abductor Jefferson Lewis. All three items have now been rushed to Darwin for urgent forensic testing as police race against time
New detail emerges as missing NT girl, Sharon, seen holding hands with man before disappearance The Prime Minister has weighed in as the search enters its third day. A young girl believed to have been abducted was seen moments before…
SEARCH BREAKTHROUGH: Key items have been discovered during the search for 5-year-old Sharon Granites in the Northern Territory. Police say the discovery was made near the last known location — and one small detail about where the items were found is now shifting the entire search focus 👀👇
Key items discovered in hunt for missing five-year-old NT girl Sharon Granites as search intensifies A pair of children’s underwear is among several items found as the search for a missing Northern Territory girl — and a man suspected of abducting her…
A LETTER THAT LEFT HER IN TEARS… After the death of Tupac Shakur, his mother Afeni Shakur received a deeply personal letter from Eminem. What Eminem wrote about Tupac inside that message is the part fans still talk about years later👇
The bond between hip-hop legends is often characterized by intense competition, but the relationship between Eminem and Tupac Shakur stands as a poignant testament to respect and the profound impact of artistic legacy across generations. A heartfelt letter and a…
10 SIGHTINGS… AFTER HIS DEATH? 👀 Decades after the death of Tupac Shakur, clips and photos claiming to show the rapper alive keep resurfacing online. Fans say at least 10 different sightings were caught on camera — but one particular clip is the one that still has people questioning everything 👇
The enduring mystery surrounding the death of Tupac Shakur remains one of the most significant cultural enigmas of the last thirty years, spawning an entire industry of conspiracy theories and investigative efforts. Since that fateful night in Las Vegas in…
End of content
No more pages to load
