Rescue efforts continue after a landslide hit a campsite and house in New Zealand

Rescuers dug through rubble Thursday at a New Zealand campsite as they searched for missing people, including children, after a landslide triggered by heavy rains knocked out power to thousands and caused widespread damage.

Homes were evacuated and roads closed as rain lashed most of the North Island’s eastern seaboard, with police putting the number of people missing in the single digits after Wednesday’s landslide at the Mount Maunganui tourist resort.

Rescuers will use earthmoving equipment to remove debris as they work through the night to find the missing, emergency services said in a statement.

“This is a complex and high-risk area,” added Megan Stiffler, fire and emergency chief. “Teams will be working throughout the night until the search is complete.”

The number of missing is “in the single digits,” police Superintendent Tim Anderson told a news conference, adding, “It’s possible we’ll find someone alive.”

Helicopters and search dogs are out in force on the hunt, and media say 8,000 people are still without power, down from 16,000 previously. The death toll has not yet been confirmed.

Canadian describes the slide

Another witness, Dion Siluch from Canada, was having a massage at the nearby Mount Hot Pools when the collapse occurred.

“The whole room just started shaking violently … it was like a freight train passing by you,” Siluch told Reuters.

“We looked out the window and there was a caravan in a hot tub.”

Siluch, who lived in the camp, said he left the area with his wife and two daughters, as emergency services began to work to find the missing people.

No words were heard in the debris as the fear that it may continue to move on the ground made those who arrived first to withdraw even though they saw signs of life, said the fire and emergency commander William Pike.

“My understanding was that members of the public… tried to enter the debris and heard some voices,” he said, adding that the sound was also heard by the fire brigade at the scene.

Children were among the missing, the media said, citing Mark Mitchell, the minister for emergency management.

People who are lost somewhere else

Police say two people are missing after another volcano hit a house in neighboring Papamoa, and a third is missing after the car they were traveling in washed away north of Auckland on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government is doing everything possible to support those affected.

Transport authorities said roads were closed in the Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions, while local authorities said road damage cut across small communities.

Weather officials have lifted all warnings for the North Island as a tropical low moves east.