In a shocking turn of events, a landslip has left several individuals, including children, missing at a New Zealand holiday park following an extraordinary deluge of rain. The calamity struck Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on Thursday morning, around 9:30 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. AEDT), where the earth gave way, crushing campervans and a shower-toilet block beneath its weight.

Rescue teams are currently engaged in a desperate search and rescue mission, as authorities have confirmed that multiple people remain unaccounted for. Although specific numbers have not been disclosed, police have indicated that those missing are within the “single figures.”

New Zealand’s Emergency Management Minister, Mark Mitchell, expressed the gravity of the situation, labeling it a “tragedy.” Speaking to the press, he conveyed the anguish of families impacted by the disaster, mentioning that “parents and the husband of some of the people that we’re currently trying to rescue” were present in the campground.

The precise number has not been shared, though police say it is in the “single figures”.

Emergency management minister Mark Mitchell described the event as a “tragedy”, telling reporters that “parents and the husband of some of the people that we’re currently trying to rescue” were in the campground.

The landslip followed Tauranga’s heaviest single day of rainfall on record, with 270mm falling in the 24 hours to 9am.

Emergency workers and bystanders survey the scene after a landslide hit a campground at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand. Source: AAP / Stuff/AP

Alister Hardy, a fisherman who was nearby, told the NZ Herald he heard “rolling thunder and cracking of trees” before looking up and seeing “the whole hillside gave way”.

“There were people running and screaming and I saw people get bowled. There are people trapped,” he said.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson William Pike said the first people on the scene heard calls for help from inside the landslip.

“Members of the public … tried to get into the rubble and did hear some voices,” he said.

“Our initial fire crew arrived and had the same were able to hear the same.”

Search and rescue experts made a call to pull back from the slip, given the treacherous conditions.

Rare weather warnings

Mount Maunganui is a tourist hotspot, hosting one of New Zealand’s most popular beaches and well-loved walking trails.

The big wet extended beyond the Bay of Plenty, with large areas of New Zealand’s North Island drenched on Wednesday and overnight into Thursday.

MetService issued a rare red weather warning for a “threat to life” in several regions.

In Northland and Tairāwhiti, towns including Ōakura have suffered huge flooding, with some communities cut off.

There are also fears for a man in his 40s swept away in his car in the swollen Mahurangi River, north of Auckland, on Wednesday, while a passenger was able to scramble to safety.

Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after a landslip hit their house, with one seriously injured.

The red weather warnings issued by MetService are reserved for only the most concerning events.

People have been trapped on rooftops in Tairāwhiti, where Mark Law — the helicopter pilot involved in rescue efforts after the deadly 2019 Whakaari volcanic eruption — is again helping out.

Photos of the region on social media show vast flooding, with forestry slash among the debris.

Thousands of people — in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairāwhiti — were also left without power from the storm and flooding.

This week’s alert is the first rain-related red warning to hit the same area since Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023, killing 11 people and causing $7.7 billion in damage.

Two search and rescue experts were among those killed as they scoured a property in Auckland’s west coast.

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