{"id":429341,"date":"2026-01-22T06:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429341\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T06:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:07:12","slug":"australian-man-describes-terrifying-escape-from-new-zealand-landslide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429341\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian man describes terrifying escape from New Zealand landslide"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Australian<\/a> tourist has described his terrifying escape from a landslide at New Zealand<\/a>‘s Mount Maunganui, saying he was swimming in a pool when a caravan smashed through a cinder block wall and crashed down beside him.<\/p>\n

Multiple people are missing after the landslide wiped out parts of Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park at the base of Mauao this morning, police said.<\/p>\n

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ a girl is among those missing.<\/p>\n

\"SonnySonny Worrall, from Newcastle, described how escaped a caravan that crashed through a wall into the pool he was in during the Mount Maunganui landslide. Photo: Tony Wall\/Stuff (Tony Wall\/Stuff)Speaking to a Stuff reporter, the survivor Sonny Worrall, from Newcastle in regional New South Wales<\/a>, said he had to dive into the next pool to avoid being struck.<\/p>\n

“As I’m swimming, I heard this huge landslide behind me, trees cracking, and there was a caravan that almost hit me. I was just fearing for my life.<\/p>\n

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.<\/p>\n

Still visibly shaken, Worrall said the scene felt “like a movie”.<\/p>\n

“Luckily, there were no children in the kids’ pool. But who knows \u2013 there could have been someone inside the caravan that was swept over.”<\/p>\n

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford said caravans, a toilet block, cars, and tents have been affected by the landslide, said Rutherford.<\/p>\n

\"AA search and rescue is underway in Mount Maunganui. (Jess Pedersen)<\/p>\n

Dion Siluch said he was having a massage at the Mount Pools when the “whole room started shaking like crazy”.<\/p>\n

As he was being evacuated, he saw a large caravan that had slipped down onto the pools from the campground at Pilot Bay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Stuff reporter at the scene near Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park said multiple ambulances, fire engines and police were present, with a large crowd gathering nearby.<\/p>\n

Police have established a base at the Mount Maunganui Surf Life Saving Club, where officers are working through a register of campers to determine who remains unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

Campers could be seen being processed by police.<\/p>\n

Helicopters have also been deployed to support ongoing search and rescue efforts.<\/p>\n

A local bystander said no one had been found yet, despite police dogs being deployed.<\/p>\n

\"EmergencyEmergency services work at Mount Maunganui campground, where several people are unaccounted for. Photo: Jess Pedersen (Jess Pedersen)<\/p>\n

Penny Carnaby saw the devastation unfold from directly across the road at the apartments.<\/p>\n

She heard a “loud crack” and rushed to the verandah.<\/p>\n

“I just saw it keep coming and coming, and everyone was running and there was screaming and yelling\u2026 it just happened so fast. It was just horrific.”<\/p>\n

She said in the desperate minutes before emergency services arrived, bystanders raced to the scene of the slip to help.<\/p>\n

“There was nothing that they could do,” a tearful Carnaby said. <\/p>\n

“Because there’s so much dirt.<\/p>\n

“It took out the whole kitchen block\u2026 There’s going be so many people missing,” she told Stuff.<\/p>\n

Police<\/a> said they were called to Adams Ave after 9.30am.<\/p>\n

“The campsite has been evacuated, and Adams Ave is closed while emergency services work to locate anybody who remains in the area.”<\/p>\n

Police were pushing back crowds of people who had come out of their Mount apartments to watch, a Stuff reporter said.<\/p>\n

“It’s for your safety, we don’t know if another slip will happen,” one officer said.<\/p>\n

Hato Hone St John had eight emergency vehicles on the scene.<\/p>\n

That was including four ambulances, one rapid response unit, two operations managers, and a helicopter.<\/p>\n

Further units were on the way, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe scene at the Mount Hot Pools after a major land slide ripped thorough a Mount Maunganui campground. (Jess Pedersen)<\/p>\n

NZ Herald has reported eyewitnesses heard people screaming and were concerned some may be trapped.<\/p>\n

Members of the public are advised to avoid the area, police said.<\/p>\n

Tauranga Mayor Mah\u00e9 Drysdale said in a statement they are aware that some people are unaccounted for, and our thoughts are with them, their families, and everyone affected.<\/p>\n

“We are doing all we can on the ground and providing support to campground staff and visitors.<\/p>\n

“This is a deeply distressing event, and our priority right now is the safety and wellbeing of those involved.”<\/p>\n

Mount Maunganui’s Facebook page<\/a> said Mauao is fully closed to the public until further notice, as the area is unsafe due to the large slips.<\/p>\n

“Due to the heightened risk to public safety, all tracks, access points, and surrounding areas of Mauao are closed while the considerable damage is assessed,” it said.<\/p>\n

“Fencing is being installed and secured at key entry points, with signage and barriers in place at all closure points to prevent public access.<\/p>\n

“Security will also be present to monitor the closure and ensure public safety.”<\/p>\n

The public is strongly advised not to enter Mauao, or attempt to bypass fencing or barriers.<\/p>\n

Crews from Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Maketu, and Greerton are currently assisting, with further crews on the way<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on Stuff<\/a> and has been reproduced here with permission.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Australian tourist has described his terrifying escape from a landslide at New Zealand‘s Mount Maunganui, saying he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-429341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}