Rescue efforts at Mount Maunganui site switch to recovery operation that police say could take several days
Efforts to rescue at least six people buried by a landslide at a New Zealand holiday park ended on Saturday, with police shifting into a recovery operation.
Police Supt Tim Anderson said human remains had been uncovered on Friday night beneath the mountains of dirt and debris that crashed into a campsite in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, adding that it could take several days to locate all of the victims due to the unstable ground.
“There’s still a lot of mud and other aspects [around the site] so my primary consideration today is actually the safety of the staff working on it,” he said on Saturday.
He said it was now “highly unlikely” that more than six people had been caught under the landslide.
The remains will be transported to a mortuary in Hamilton. Chief coroner Anna Tutton warned that the identification process could be “painful” and “lengthy”.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday “every New Zealander has been hoping for a miracle” and that the switch to a recovery operation was “the news we have all been dreading”.
“Police have confirmed fatalities at the campground and the reality that no one would have been able to survive, therefore the rescue operation taking place there is now moving to a recovery.
“To the families who have lost loved ones – every New Zealander is grieving with you.”
More poor weather is forecast for the area on Saturday with thunderstorms and hail possible, potentially hampering the recovery operation at the campsite.
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