It was the “almighty cracking” that they heard first, an unmistakable deep rumble before the mountain gave way, swallowing up caravans and cars as it collapsed at speed on the campsite below. Aerial images show the aftermath of the landslide that struck New Zealand’s North Island on Thursday – a massive piece of brown earth gouged out of the green slope, flattened roofs and a few trees sticking out an unnatural angles.
“It was almost like the air pressure changed. It was a real powerful event,” says local Alister McHardy. “It just came down, a lot of cracking and people screaming and car alarms going off … The sounds of mayhem.”
Rescue efforts at the campsite on Mount Maunganui continue after voices were heard calling for help from beneath the rubble in the immediate aftermath. But nothing has been heard since, witnesses and emergency officials say.
Heavy rains triggered the landslide on the country’s east coast at 9.30am, bringing soil and rubble down on the busy campsite where families had been enjoying the summer school holidays.
Two people were killed in the landslide, including a Chinese citizen. New Zealand officials have not provided any details about the fatalities, although police have said six people may be missing, including children.
McHardy was going out to fish at sunrise on Thursday, when he noticed a “mountain of soil” at the north end of the beach next to Mount Maunganui. He rang emergency services and the council to warn them.
“It was obvious that there was going to be more slips,” he says, citing his experience working as an underground miner for eight years.
He says at the time people were still walking along the tracks at the top of the slip. He saw tents about 15 metres away from the foot of one of the slips. He told the Guardian that he woke the campers and advised them to move away.
After waiting for about an hour and a half, he went down to Pilot Bay on the other side of the mountain to fish for trout. When he was walking back to his car, he heard this “almighty cracking”.
He says he ran across the road and up to the side of the slip where he tried to help people as the slip continued. He recalls that it took about 10 minutes before emergency services arrived.
“It didn’t take long at all, but that’s when the helicopter and all that came in, and the sirens made it difficult because I was trying to listen for ground noise and we needed silence for that.”
New Zealand is in shock after the tragedy. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, who on Friday visited areas hit by the recent flooding, says it is a highly anxious time for the families of the missing campers.
Luxon says he has met with some of the grieving families, who had told him they were feeling well supported during an “absolutely tragic” time.
“New Zealand is full of grief today … and grieves with them,” he said.
Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale told Radio New Zealand there had been no progress in finding missing people and that the area remained unstable.
“That’s really hard, and we’re here with the families and as you can imagine, just that uncertainty of where they are and when we might have a result is pretty hard,” Drysdale said.
New Zealand police commissioner Richard Chambers told the New Zealand Herald the scale of the disaster and the risks at the site could delay rescue efforts.
“It could be days and we appreciate that everybody is anxious and waiting for their loved ones, and for some answers but we also have to be very careful,” Chambers said.
Progress is slow as teams painstakingly clear layers of debris, says fire and emergency assistant national commander David Guard.
“We are operating in a complex and high-risk environment,” Guard says. “We will continue the operation until the search is complete.”
The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, posted on X that one of the dead in the landslides is a Chinese citizen.
McHardy says the area is his sanctuary.
“Just being in the environment, all these little amazing creatures. It’s just a beautiful spot. We take it for granted how awesome the spot is.”
The Mount Maunganui region is a big tourist draw in summer for hikers and beach lovers.
The landslide happened after heavy rains soaked much of the North Island’s east coast this week and caused widespread damage. A landslide in the neighbouring town of Papamoa killed two people on Thursday, and a man was washed away with his vehicle north of Auckland on Wednesday. Roads remain closed in some of the worst-hit areas, making some North Island towns inaccessible by land.
The civil defence organisation in Tairawhiti District said in a social media post that people were walking over landslides to collect water and food from welfare hubs and warned against this because of fears of further landslides.
