Six missing after landslide hits New Zealand campsite

6 hours ago 5

Officials person warned the hunt for those missing could instrumentality respective days.

Published On 23 Jan 2026

Six people, including 2 teenagers, are missing aft a landslide struck a engaged campground connected New Zealand’s North Island, arsenic rescue teams continued searching done debris, authorities person said.

The landslide was triggered by dense rainfall astatine astir 9:30am section clip connected Thursday (20:30 GMT connected Wednesday) astatine Mount Maunganui connected the island’s eastbound coast, sending ungraded and rubble crashing onto a campsite successful the metropolis of Tauranga crowded with families connected summertime holidays.

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Officials warned connected Friday that the hunt for those missing could instrumentality respective days, arsenic unstable conditions continued to complicate rescue efforts astatine the site.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told the New Zealand Herald that information concerns meant teams would person to proceed slowly, contempt the urgency of the operation.

“It could beryllium days, and we admit that everybody is anxious and waiting for their loved ones, and for immoderate answers, but we besides person to beryllium precise careful,” Chambers said.

A drone presumption of diggers moving astatine a campsite damaged by a landslide caused by dense rains, successful Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, January 23, 2026. TVNZ via REUTERS TV/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NEW ZEALAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NEW ZEALAND. AUSTRALIA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN AUSTRALIA. No usage New Zealand net sites/any net tract of immoderate New Zealand oregon Australia based media organisations oregon mobile platforms.

Emergency services said important resources had been deployed to the area, with crews methodically removing debris and checking it portion by piece.

“We person 25 unit moving with contractors and their diggers and constabulary dogs, arsenic good arsenic constabulary operations to guarantee that each inch of ungraded removed is worked through,” said David Guard, a occurrence and exigency official.

Authorities said those inactive unaccounted for see a 15-year-old, arsenic constabulary continued efforts to clarify the whereabouts of others perchance linked to the site.

Police commandant Tim Anderson told reporters that officers were attempting to marque interaction with 3 further people, though aboriginal indications suggested they were not astatine the campground erstwhile the landslide struck.

He added that rescuers had not detected immoderate further signs of beingness since archetypal responders initially heard voices coming from beneath the debris connected Thursday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, right, flies connected a chopper connected Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, to presumption the harm from a landslide astatine Mount Maunganui. (Corey Fleming/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon travelled to the tract connected Friday, wherever helium met families affected by the disaster. “They are grieving incredibly hard, and I cognize that New Zealand grieves with them,” helium said.

Luxon said authorities backing would beryllium provided erstwhile the afloat grade of the harm had been assessed.

Elsewhere, the dense rainfall triggered different landslide successful the neighbouring suburb of Papamoa, sidesplitting 2 people. One of those killed was a Chinese citizen, Chinese Ambassador Wang Xiaolong said successful a station connected X connected Friday.

Road closures remained successful spot crossed immoderate of the hardest-hit areas, cutting disconnected respective towns by land.

Civil defence officials successful the Tairawhiti territory warned residents collecting exigency supplies of nutrient and h2o not to transverse landslides, saying this could trigger further question of stone and soil.