Tragedy struck New Zealand as two people lost their lives and six others remain missing after a devastating landslide at a popular campground and a nearby house in the community of Welcome Bay on the North Island. The disaster occurred just hours before the start of the summer school holiday, leaving families with young children and loved ones who had been planning to spend quality time together now facing unimaginable grief.
According to reports, the first landslide hit the house at 4:50 am, prompting two people to escape the premises, but unfortunately, the bodies of two others were trapped inside and could not be rescued until hours later. Meanwhile, a second landslide struck the Beachside Holiday Park in Welcome Bay, destroying vehicles, travel trailers, and an amenities block. Witnesses described seeing a huge landslide coming down on the campground, with one tourist, Australian Sonny Worrall, claiming he had to jump out of his seat as fast as he could after hearing the landslide.
The search for survivors is ongoing, but authorities are facing questions about why people were not evacuated from the campsite despite reports of a landslip earlier in the day. Local officials acknowledged that there was possibly a small slip where people moved away from the site, and they vowed to provide answers to those affected.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited the region on Friday, meeting with grieving families who expressed gratitude for the support they had received during this "absolutely tragic" time. He urged residents in affected areas to heed local authorities' safety advice, emphasizing that extreme weather conditions continue to pose a danger across the North Island. Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Pike reported that there were some signs of life immediately after the landslide, but ultimately, everyone from the site was withdrawn due to possible movement and slip.
The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, also extended condolences to families affected by the tragedy, thanking authorities for their prompt assistance. Meanwhile, the government has pledged its full support to those impacted by the disaster, with emergency services working tirelessly to locate any remaining survivors.
According to reports, the first landslide hit the house at 4:50 am, prompting two people to escape the premises, but unfortunately, the bodies of two others were trapped inside and could not be rescued until hours later. Meanwhile, a second landslide struck the Beachside Holiday Park in Welcome Bay, destroying vehicles, travel trailers, and an amenities block. Witnesses described seeing a huge landslide coming down on the campground, with one tourist, Australian Sonny Worrall, claiming he had to jump out of his seat as fast as he could after hearing the landslide.
The search for survivors is ongoing, but authorities are facing questions about why people were not evacuated from the campsite despite reports of a landslip earlier in the day. Local officials acknowledged that there was possibly a small slip where people moved away from the site, and they vowed to provide answers to those affected.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited the region on Friday, meeting with grieving families who expressed gratitude for the support they had received during this "absolutely tragic" time. He urged residents in affected areas to heed local authorities' safety advice, emphasizing that extreme weather conditions continue to pose a danger across the North Island. Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Pike reported that there were some signs of life immediately after the landslide, but ultimately, everyone from the site was withdrawn due to possible movement and slip.
The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, also extended condolences to families affected by the tragedy, thanking authorities for their prompt assistance. Meanwhile, the government has pledged its full support to those impacted by the disaster, with emergency services working tirelessly to locate any remaining survivors.
what's going on here?? 
so two people were trapped in that house and it took hours to rescue them? that's just crazy! 
how could they not evacuate everyone from the campsite though? reports said there was a landslide warning earlier, so what was going on? 
authorities are saying it was just a small slip, but i'm calling BS on that one. 
sources needed here! 
also, why is PM Luxon just visiting and meeting with families, not really offering any answers or solutions to the situation? seems kinda out of touch... 
. I can only imagine how devastating it must be for all the families who were planning a fun summer holiday but now have to deal with this unimaginable loss 
. I'm keeping my thoughts with all those affected, especially the families of those who didn't make it 
.
. The authorities are doing their best to find out what went wrong and provide answers, but it's still a huge mystery why people weren't evacuated from the campsite sooner 
. It's just awful that they lost two lives and six others might not make it 
... I hope the PM is being genuine with his support for the affected families 
.
. I hope the authorities get to the bottom of why some people weren't evacuated from the campsite earlier and what went wrong with the warnings they received 
. The fact that the landslide happened so close to summer school holiday is just heartbreaking 
. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy 
.
prime minister luxon is doing his thing visiting families and whatnot but some answers are still needed from local officials 
This is so sad... what's going on here? I mean, people were supposed to be on summer break and now they're dealing with this tragedy. I'm trying to understand why the evacuation didn't happen earlier. Was it just a small slip or was it something more? 
Where are the reports from authorities? Where's the transparency?
. The thought of being in your own backyard and having this happen is just mind-blowing. I think it's crazy that people weren't evacuated sooner, you'd think the warnings would've been enough to get everyone out of there safely 
. It's just awful for all those families who lost loved ones and are still searching for each other 
. The fact that there were some signs of life initially is a glimmer of hope, but it's also super sad because everyone got pulled out anyway 