Source: Radio New Zealand
Teams working at the Mauao search site on 25 January. RNZ / Nick Monro
One of the teams who have worked at the tragic Mt Maunganui campground landslide are returning home.
The Fire and Emergency specialist Urban Search and Rescue team are “in the process of demobilisation” and have left the cordoned-off site, FENZ said on Saturday.
However, Bay of Plenty police district commander Tim Anderson confirmed recovery efforts were continuing at the site.
“While some teams have started to depart, all the required safety measures and equipment remain in place to ensure the safety of all the teams who continue to work at the scene,” Anderson said.
The departing FENZ team have “worked meticulously and tirelessly throughout the operation”, FENZ assistant national commander David Guard said.
“Our thoughts remain with the families who lost loved ones in this devastating event. I would also like to thank the community for their outpouring of support.”
Guard also acknowledged the FENZ partnership with Police: “It was instrumental in our ability to achieve outcomes through our rescue phase and as we supported them in the DVI recovery phase.”
Six people were believed missing at the site, after the massive landslide struck on 22 January. On Saturday, a coroner confirmed the body of Rotorua woman Susan Doreen Knowles had been identified – she is the sixth victim formally identified.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
