SYDNEY: New Zealand authorities suspended recovery efforts on Sunday (Jan 25) for victims of a landslide that hit a busy campground on the country’s North Island.
Six people, including two teenagers, are presumed dead after heavy rains triggered Thursday’s landslide at Mount Maunganui on the island’s east coast, bringing down soil and rubble at the site in the city of Tauranga, crowded with families on summer holidays.
Authorities have been working to identify the victims after human remains were found at the site on Saturday.
But a crack found at the site prompted recovery work to cease for the day on Sunday, said police Superintendent Tim Anderson.
“As a result of that, we’ve had to pull all our staff out,” Anderson told reporters at Mount Maunganui, adding, “We’ve had to do that for the safety of everyone concerned.”
He did not specify when work would resume, saying the authorities were taking it “day by day at the moment”.