Several campers, including children, are feared to be buried in rubble after a huge landslide destroyed a holiday campsite in New Zealand.
People were heard screaming from inside a toilet block at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on the country’s North Island, before the cries for help went silent after about 15 minutes.
The hillside collapsed onto the popular holiday spot on Thursday morning local time after days of record-breaking rain.
One woman has been hailed a hero for warning others of the danger, before she then became trapped in the toilet block.
Rescuers are desperately trying to save the missing campers from inside the block, with authorities hoping that some could be found alive.
One of the first rescuers on the scene recalled hearing shouts of ‘help us’ as he tried to free holidaymakers from the amenities hut.
Mark Tangney told the New Zealand Herald: 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”.
‘We went hard for about half an hour and after 15 minutes, the people that were trapped, we couldn’t hear them anymore.’
One heroic woman was said to have saved the lives of many holidaymakers by telling them to move out before the disaster struck.
‘I just want you to know that one of the women that’s in that shower block, she was a hero,’ a witness, who didn’t want to be named, told the New Zealand Herald.
‘She went around at 5 o’clock this morning and she got us all out of bed and she woke us all up so that we could move out… and she’s not out.’
Witnesses ran for their lives after they noticed the trees around the hills moving just moments before the landslip.
Sonny Worrall was swimming in a nearby hot pools when he heard a tree crack.
He told TVNZ: ‘I looked behind me and there was a huge landslide coming down.
‘I turned around and I had to jump out from my seat as fast as I could and just run.
‘Looking behind me, there was a caravan coming right behind me. It all happened in a flash. I was fearing for my life. People were panicking everywhere.’
Witnesses Bruce Cortesi and Olly Collier recalled seeing swimmers escaping the pools with ‘dirt on their faces’ after the landslide wiped out the campsite in ‘seconds’.
The pair estimated the 20-25 people were in the pools at the time.
A police dog squad joined the search efforts on Thursday with no missing camper yet to be found.
Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Park told reporters: ‘We’re going right through [the night] until we’ve rescued everyone.
‘It was a significant landslip and the priority was life safety. It’s a complex and high-risk environment.’
Minister Mark Mitchell said: ‘Over the past 24 hours, there have definitely been some heroic people, members of the public, first responders, police and firefighters.’
A second land slide then formed behind Mount Maunganui surf club on Thursday afternoon, forcing the building to be evacuated.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is due to visit the site tomorrow, said the government would be doing all they could to support those affected.
‘To the emergency responders, Defence Force personnel, and all those who are putting themselves in harm’s way to keep Kiwis safe, the whole country is grateful,’ he tweeted.
‘We continue to urge people in affected areas to follow the advice of local authorities.’
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