Landslide at NZ Holiday Park Leaves Several Missing

Several people, including children, remain missing after a landslide devastated the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on New Zealand's North Island Thursday morning, amid widespread flooding from record rainfall. The slip struck around 9:30 a.m. local time, flattening caravans, tents, vehicles and a toilet block at the popular family campsite near Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region.

Emergency services responded immediately to the scene, where initial screams were heard from beneath the rubble, but no survivors have been pulled from the debris hours later. The number of missing is in the single figures, according to Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson, who noted it was possible some could still be found alive. Multiple children, including a young girl, are among those unaccounted for, Police and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell confirmed during a visit to the site. The holiday park has been fully evacuated, and the public has been urged to stay away as search teams work in a complex, high-risk environment prone to further movement.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as the hillside gave way without warning. Fisherman Alister Hardy, who was...