One of the contractors trying to locate victims at Mount Maunganui after last month’s deadly incident was bitten by a police search and rescue dog.
Police have confirmed the contractor – believed to be operating a digger or excavator – received medical treatment after the incident, which is now under review.
Six people died after a section of Mauao hillside collapsed, sending a landslide into the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park and the Mount Hot Pools about 9.30am on January 22.
It followed a record 24 hours of rain in Tauranga, with the region under a state of emergency amid a red weather warning.
After the slip, diggers and other heavy machinery were brought on to the site to move debris and help the search.
Bay of Plenty police operations and support manager Inspector Logan Marsh said the contractor “sustained a dog bite” on January 23.
“The contractor received medical treatment and we have been in contact with them since to offer support,” he told the Herald.
“The incident is being reviewed to understand how it occurred, and to identify any lessons that can be taken from it.”
Marsh noted the fraught and uncertain nature of the work being carried out at the site on the day, which was still an effort to find any survivors.
“We want to acknowledge that everyone involved in the operation was working under incredibly challenging circumstances,” he said.
“We thank all emergency services and the contractors for their huge effort during the operation.”
Marsh did not want the incident to take away from any of the gruelling work done by those at the site to recover all of the victims.
By Sunday, all of the Mount Maunganui victims had been formally identified.
They were Pakuranga College student couple Sharon Maccanico and Max Furse-Kee, both 15; Rotorua friends Susan (Sue) Doreen Knowles and Jacqualine (Jackie) Wheeler, both 71; Swedish tourist Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20; and Morrinsville teacher Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50.
Although work at the scene has stopped, police confirmed technology remained in place to monitor any land movements.
Some areas would stay cordoned off until police – in consultation with council and geotechnical experts – deemed them safe for the public.
Two other people were killed in a separate slip on Welcome Bay Road in Pāpāmoa. They were identified as 10-year-old Austen Keith Richardson and his grandmother, Yao Fang, 71.
“We are very relieved for the families that all their loved ones have now been returned to them,” said Bay of Plenty Police District Commander, Superintendent Tim Anderson.
He said the last 11 days have been extremely difficult for the families and police would continue to provide ongoing support to them.
“While we cannot take the pain away, we hope that being reunited with their loved ones can help give them some closure,” Anderson said.
