Tourist's Desperate Pool Dive Saves Life During Catastrophic Campsite Landslide
An Australian tourist was forced to make a life-or-death leap into a swimming pool to escape a devastating landslide that tore through a popular New Zealand holiday park, leaving multiple people unaccounted for in the aftermath. The terrifying incident occurred at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on the North Island around 9.30am on Thursday, with campers reporting violent shaking and piercing screams as the earth gave way.
Caravans and Tents Flattened by Record Rainfall
The catastrophic slip, triggered by unprecedented rainfall that has battered the region in recent days, completely flattened caravans, tents, vehicles and toilet facilities at the coastal campground. Sonny Worrall, a tourist from Newcastle on the NSW coast, was swimming when the landslide struck and had to make a split-second decision to jump into a neighbouring pool to avoid being crushed by a tumbling caravan.
'As I'm swimming, I heard this huge landslide behind me, trees cracking. There was a caravan that almost hit me. I had to dive in the next pool,' he recounted to Stuff news. 'The caravan broke through the cinder block wall, crashed in, and luckily, I got out of there in time, because where I was swimming is now covered up with dirt, and there's a tree laying on where I was swimming.'
'I was just fearing for my life. It was the scariest thing I ever felt in my life. It was like a movie... I was just fearing for my life. I'm shaking right now,' the shaken tourist added, describing the traumatic experience.
Desperate Search for Missing Campers Continues
As Thursday afternoon progressed, several people including multiple children remained unaccounted for, with dog teams joining emergency services in the search effort. Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson confirmed the number of missing persons was in 'single figures' but maintained it was 'possible we will find someone alive' despite the challenging conditions.
Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Park vowed rescue teams would continue working through the night, stating: 'We're going right through [the night] until we've rescued everyone. It was a significant landslip and the priority was life safety. It's a complex and high-risk environment.'
Witnesses described hearing desperate screams from beneath the twisted rubble in the immediate aftermath, though these fell silent after approximately fifteen minutes. Locals and passers-by had rushed to help, with some climbing onto the roof of a displaced toilet block in attempts to reach those trapped in caravans.
Wider Weather Emergency Across North Island
The Mount Maunganui tragedy occurred against a backdrop of extreme weather conditions across New Zealand's North Island. Tauranga, the closest city to the holiday park, received a staggering 295mm of rain in just thirty hours leading up to 6am on Thursday.
Meteorologists MetService had issued a rare red weather warning for a 'threat to life' in several regions, with huge swathes of North Island battered by torrential rain on Wednesday. The severe conditions prompted a state of local emergency and caused widespread disruption:
- In Warkworth near Auckland, a man in his 40s was swept away in his car in the swollen Mahurangi River, with police continuing search operations on Thursday
- Rescue efforts were underway for stranded locals in the remote Tairawhiti region, where people were reportedly trapped on rooftops in Te Araroa
- A couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were rescued after a landslip hit their house, with one suffering serious injuries
- Thousands of people across Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti were left without power following the storm and flooding
National Response to the Crisis
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed his government was doing everything possible to support those affected by the severe weather events. 'To the emergency responders, Defence Force personnel, and all those who are putting themselves in harm's way to keep Kiwis safe, the whole country is grateful,' he tweeted, urging people in affected areas to follow local authority advice.
The Mount Maunganui area, located more than 200km north of Auckland, is a popular holiday destination famous for its extinct volcano - a sacred Maori site offering ocean-view hiking trails. The campground has now been completely evacuated, with authorities urging the public to avoid the area as rescue operations continue.
No one has yet been rescued from the rubble at the holiday park, with emergency services facing what Commander Park described as a 'complex and high-risk environment' in their ongoing search for survivors.
