BBC Breakfast viewers were met with devastating news on Friday (January 23) as presenter Sarah Campbell reported on a deadly landslide in New Zealand. The incident occurred at a campsite in Mount Maunganui on the North Island, leaving at least six people missing, including two teenagers.
Sarah Campbell, co-hosting the programme with Charlie Stayt, delivered the tragic update early in the show. Emergency teams are continuing their search for those unaccounted for, with two bodies already recovered from a neighbouring property in Welcome Bay. The youngest missing person is just 15 years old.
TVNZ correspondent Jordyn Rudd, reporting live from the scene, described the situation as 'still an active and evolving situation'. She noted that dozens of emergency personnel are clearing debris in the hope of finding survivors. Police confirmed that six people are unaccounted for, with three others on a list of campers who had not checked out.
The initial landslide struck a property in Welcome Bay at 4.50am local time. Two individuals managed to escape, but two others, believed to be a child and his grandmother, were found dead. A second slip later hit Beachside Holiday Park at the foot of Mount Maunganui, crushing vehicles, caravans and a shower block.
BBC correspondent Phil Mercer reported that it could be days before the full scale of the tragedy is known. Rescuers using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs are continuing their painstaking work, described as complex and high risk due to unstable ground. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has visited the site and expressed the nation's grief.
