Thursday, January 22, 2026 - A powerful landslide
triggered by record rainfall has struck a popular campground in Mount Maunganui
on New Zealand’s North Island, leaving at least 2 killed and several people, including children,
missing and prompting an urgent rescue operation
The disaster unfolded early on Thursday morning at the Mount
Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, where heavy rain saturated the ground and
caused a hillside to collapse onto tents, campervans, and a shower-toilet block
at about 9:30 a.m. local time.
Emergency services, including Fire and Emergency New Zealand
(FENZ), police, and specialist search teams, are currently working to locate
anyone still trapped.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell confirmed that a
young girl is among those unaccounted for, and that other children may also be
missing, describing the situation as “heartbreaking” for families awaiting
news.
Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said
the number of those missing is in the 'single figures', adding that it is
'possible we will find someone alive'.
Mark Tangney was among the first rescuers on scene after he
heard screams and saw holidaymakers fleeing the campground.
'There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the
toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear
people screaming "help us, help us, get us out of here",' Mr Tangney
told the New Zealand Herald.
'We went hard for about half an hour and after 15 minutes, the people that were trapped, we couldn't hear them anymore.'
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