A catastrophic landslide has left multiple children missing at a well-known campsite on New Zealand’s North Island, officials report.

Campers described feeling intense tremors and hearing cries for help when the landslide hit Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The sudden disaster caught many by surprise.

The landslide, triggered by unprecedented rainfall over recent days, wreaked havoc on the site. Foreign tourists, including Australians, were among those affected as caravans, tents, and vehicles were crushed. The force of the landslide even sent a caravan careening into nearby hot pools.

In the immediate aftermath, would-be rescuers scrambled to assist, climbing onto the roof of a restroom building after hearing desperate screams from beneath the debris. Sadly, the cries faded after approximately 15 minutes.

Authorities have since evacuated the campsite and are urging the public to steer clear of the area. Emergency teams are conducting an urgent search and rescue operation, hoping to find those who may still be trapped.

Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said the number of those missing is in the ‘single figures’, adding that it is ‘possible we will find someone alive’. 

Police and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell confirmed that multiple children were among the missing. 

Mark Tangney was among the first rescuers on scene after he heard screams and saw holidaymakers fleeing the campground.

A desperate search continues for campers feared trapped after a massive landslide

Multiple children are among those feared missing at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park

‘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’,’ Mr Tangney told the New Zealand Herald.

‘We went hard for about half an hour and after 15 minutes, the people that were trapped, we couldn’t hear them anymore.

The mangled toilet block landed on top of caravans 20m from where it initially stood. 

‘We could hear the people underneath screaming for help, so I just wanted to help until the rescue crew got there,’ Mr Tangney said.

Sonny Worrall from the NSW Hunter Valley was among dozens of holidaymakers caught up in the chaos, describing it as the scariest moment of his life.

He was swimming in the nearby hot pools when he heard a tree crack.

‘I looked behind me and there was a huge landslide coming down,’ the Aussie told TVNZ.

‘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. 

Australian tourist Sonny Worrall (pictured) was among those caught up in a horror landslide

Mount Maunganui (pictured) on New Zealand’s North Island is a popular holiday hotspot

The landslide caused extensive damage to caravans, campervans and vehicles

‘It all happened in a flash. I was fearing for my life. People were panicking everywhere.’

Rescuers were ordered to stand down temporarily due to safety concerns, amid fears of a second slip.

No one has yet been rescued from the rubble.

Rescue efforts ramped up on Thursday afternoon as the police dog squad joined the search.

‘We’re going right through [the night] until we’ve rescued everyone,’ Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Park told reporters.

‘It was a significant landslip and the priority was life safety.

‘It’s a complex and high-risk environment.’ 

Fisherman Alister Hardy 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 told the NZ Herald. 

Camper Carly Morley added: ‘The toilet block up the top has been taken out with a number of caravans.

‘It’s all slid right down through the hot pools… there’s been helicopters, surf life savers are over there helping, and they’re just trying to cut into the toilet block at the moment.’

The landslide was caused by record-breaking rainfall in recent days

The public has been urged to avoid the area as a desperate search for those unaccounted for continues

The campground remains closed until further notice. 

A second landslip formed behind Mount Maunganui surf club on Thursday afternoon, forcing the building to be evacuated. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that his government was doing everything to 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.’

More than 200km north of Auckland, Mount Maunganui is a popular coastal holiday hotspot famous for its extinct volcano, a sacred Maori site with ocean-view hiking trails.

It comes after Tauranga – the closest city to Mount Maunganui – received 295mm in the 30 hours to 6am Thursday. 

Huge swathes of North Island were smashed by torrential rain on Wednesday, with meteorologists MetService issuing a rare red weather warning for a ‘threat to life’ in several regions and a state of local emergency.

In Warkworth near Auckland, a man in his 40s was swept away in his car in the swollen Mahurangi River, while a passenger managed to scramble to safety.

Police continued their search for the missing motorist on Thursday, while further east, rescue efforts are underway for stranded locals in the remote Tairawhiti region.

People have been trapped on rooftops in Te Araroa, with Mark Law – the helicopter pilot involved in rescue efforts after the deadly 2019 Whakaari-White Island volcanic eruption – told Radio NZ he was helping to conduct checks in the area.

Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after a landslip hit their house, with one seriously injured, according to local MP Tom Rutherford.

Thousands of people in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti were also left without power after the storm and flooding.