Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says it could take “days” for rescue teams to reach the “multiple” missing beneath the rubble at the Mount Maunganui campground.
Chambers told the Herald disaster identification teams have arrived at the scene, as staff had to be “ready for everything”.
He said it could take days to clear the debris that hit the campground around 9.30am Thursday because of the “massive” amount of earth that hit the campsite and the risk of the slip moving further, which could slow rescue efforts.
“It could be days and we appreciate that everybody is anxious and waiting for their loved ones, and for some answers but we also we have to be very careful,” Chambers told the Herald.
Chambers, who arrived in Tauranga late last night said disaster identification teams, with family liaison officers, were part of the “hundreds” of police staff from around the country that had gathered to help.
He said it was a devastating time for family members of the missing, who are waiting at the scene.
“My heart goes out to them. I’m a father myself and I’m a policeman. I had a brief chat to a couple of them and they were very grateful for the work that we are doing. We’re working really hard with them to give them answers as quickly as we possibly can”, he said.
Chambers said there will be “answers that need to be provided” about why campers were not evacuated sooner given the weather warnings but that was not the focus at the moment.
The Herald has been told by a source at the scene that as many as nine people are unaccounted for, but Chambers wouldn’t be drawn on the precise number missing, saying work was ongoing to establish who was at the campground at the time, and who may have checked out early.
“One of the key phases in a in a tragedy like this is reconciliation, and we don’t want to form a view too early about how many may be caught up in that tragedy,” he said.
One of those trapped under the debris-covered toilet and shower block at the campground was trying to warn others of the imminent danger when the landslide hit.
A woman whose campervan was crushed, and who managed to escape, praised the person who raised the alarm.
“I just want you to know that one of the women that’s in that shower block, she was a hero,” the woman, who didn’t want to be named, told the Herald.
She described the situation that unfolded as “horrible”, but said the woman did all she could to help save lives from early Thursday morning.
“She went around at 5 o’clock this morning and she got us all out of bed and she woke us all up so that we could move out ... and she’s not out,” she told the Herald on Thursday.
The massive landslide at the base of Mount Maunganui hit the campsite’s toilet and shower block and knocked over campervans and tents.
The disaster has sparked a huge rescue effort by police, Fire and Emergency and land search and rescue teams who have cordoned the area where they’re trying to reach those trapped.
When the hillside started collapsing around 9.30am, emergency officials and holidaymakers who managed to escape could hear people screaming from under the rubble.
Rescuers then had to pull back for their own safety as the slip started moving again and, when they returned, voices could no longer be heard.
A digger is being used to try to remove the vast amounts of dirt and debris still covering a large section of the campsite, and dog teams have moved in.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell told the Herald on Thursday that “young people” were among those unaccounted for and described the situation for parents who were waiting for news at the nearby surf club as “heartbreaking”.
“As parents, you imagine what this is like. It’s very, very tough,” he said.
Superintendent Tim Anderson described the situation as a “rescue operation” and said the number of people unaccounted for was in the “single figures”.
“I can’t be drawn on numbers, but it is possible we could find someone alive,” he said on Thursday.
Police have been trying to determine who may have left the campground without checking out prior to the landslide hitting.
Jessie Kaur, who owns the Oceanside Resort, said she heard people screaming as the hillside collapsed.
“I was in the reception inside and we heard people screaming and things falling down and people screaming and running around,” she told the Herald.
She said emergency services were on the scene within 10 minutes of the slip hitting the campground.
“People were all in a panic and our guests were panicking too. Everything happened in front of our eyes,” she said.
Emergency officials said Thursday the priority remained freeing those who were trapped, saving lives, and stabilising the slip.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named Reporter of the Year at the New Zealand Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined theHerald’s video team in July 2024.