Six people, including two teenagers, are now presumed dead following the disaster that struck a busy campground at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga on Thursday, triggered by heavy rains

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Human remains were discovered at the popular summer holiday campground in Tauranga’s Mount Maunganui area on Saturday, prompting a shift from rescue to recovery mode

New Zealand authorities on Sunday suspended recovery operations for victims of a major landslide after fresh cracks at the site posed immediate danger to rescue teams.

Six people, including two teenagers, are now presumed dead following the disaster that struck a busy campground at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga on Thursday, triggered by heavy rains.

Human remains were discovered at the site on Saturday, prompting a shift from rescue to recovery mode.

Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said recovery work was halted after rescue teams found newly developed cracks at the site. “As a result, we’ve had to pull all our staff out for the safety of everyone concerned,” he said, adding that decisions were being taken on a day-by-day basis with no immediate timeline for resumption of recovery.

New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Saturday the news of discovery of human remains was “devastating”. “To the families who have lost loved ones – every New Zealander is grieving with you,” he said.

The landslide has buried parts of a popular summer holiday campground in Tauranga’s Mount Maunganui area, where families were enjoying the season. The site remains unstable, with geotechnical experts monitoring risks.

Families of the missing continue to wait at the Mount Maunganui site, with police and emergency services providing support.

In a separate but related incident, heavy rains earlier in the week triggered a landslide in the neighbouring suburb of Papamoa (south of Tauranga), killing two people (including a Chinese citizen) in a house that was demolished by falling debris.

The MetService has warned of potential further heavy rain in parts of the North Island, though conditions are expected to ease in the coming days.

This event echoes the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, which caused widespread landslides across Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, killing 11 people and leaving thousands homeless.