Rescue efforts underway after landslide hits New Zealand campground
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A landslide hit a campground in New Zealand on Thursday and emergency crews were trying to rescue people were buried in the rubble.
Emergency services were called to the slide at the base of Mount Maunganui on New Zealand’s North Island after 9:30 a.m. The rubble hit Beachside Holiday Park in a town named after the extinct volcano.
Police Supt. Tim Anderson said the number of people missing was in the “single figures.”
No survivor had been recovered three hours after the slide, Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Pike said.
“Members of the public … tried to get into the rubble and did hear some voices,” Pike told reporters. “Our initial fire crew arrived and … were able to hear the same. Shortly after our initial crew arrived, we withdrew everyone from the site due to possible movement and slip.”
No sign of life had been detected since, Pike said.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said emergency crews were continuing a rescue operation.
Mayor Mahe Drysdale said those unaccounted earlier had included people who had left the campground without notifying authorities. The campground was closed after the disaster.
The slide was one of several across North Island after recent heavy rain during Southern Hemisphere summer.