Mount Maunganui landslide: Husband of Lisa Maclennan managed to escape slip which took wife

The husband of a Morrinsville educator missing in the Mount Maunganui landslide managed to escape the slip which took his wife.

Travis Maclennan, the husband of Lisa Maclennan, teaches at Cambridge Middle School.

In a post to its Facebook page, the school said the couple were involved in Thursday’s slip.

“Mr Mac managed to get out safely but his wife is one of the six people still missing after the incident,” the post said.

“This is a very difficult time for Mr Mac and we know that you will join us in supporting him and his family.”

Lisa Maclennan is being lauded as a hero for her actions on the morning of the slip.

The Herald revealed she woke many holidaymakers up at 5am to warn them that the bank above the camp was deteriorating.

Lance Macfarlane said he was asleep with his daughter in a tent when she got them out of bed early Thursday.

Morrinsville woman Lisa Maclennan, 50, is among those unaccounted for at Mt Maunganui.

“I think she saved us. We could have been asleep if she didn’t wake us up. I could have been still there sleeping when the big one came down,” he said.

The 50-year-old worked as a literacy centre co-ordinator at Morrinsville Intermediate.

“It is with great sadness that we need to inform you that one of our staff members, Lisa Maclennan (our amazing Literacy Centre tutor), is one of the people trapped in the landslide at Mount Maunganui,” principal Jenny Clark announced on social media earlier this week.

“We continue to hope and pray for Lisa,” she wrote.

The operation to recover the six missing people continues this week, following disruptions due to weather.

Recovery teams are using specialist equipment to ensure no further slips and protect worker safety at the slip site.

However, police have warned that the recovery operation could take days or even weeks.

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