MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Landslides hit a campground and a house in New Zealand and emergency crews were trying to rescue people buried in rubble, officials said Thursday.
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 Superintendent Tim Anderson said the number of people missing was in the “single figures.”
Another landslide hit a house overnight in the nearby Bay of Plenty community. Two people escaped the house but two others were missing, Anderson said. A rescue operation was underway there Thursday.
Further north near Warkworth, a man remained missing after floodwaters swept him from a road Wednesday morning as heavy rain lashed large swathes of the North Island, a police statement said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged residents in affected areas to heed local authorities’ safety advice during the extreme conditions.
“Extreme weather continues to cause dangerous conditions across the North Island. Right now, the government is doing everything we can to support those impacted,” Luxon posted on social media.
At Mount Maunganui, 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 at Mount Maunganui.
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.
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