FENZ warned of slip near Mt Maunganui camp almost 4 hours before landslide

Source: Radio New Zealand

The fire service received a 111 call about a slip near the Mt Maunganui holiday park nearly four hours before a fatal landslide, it can be revealed.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) say they notified the Tauranga City Council and the landowners of the camping ground within minutes.

Recovery work resumed at the site of the Mount Maunganui landslide on Monday, where six people remain missing following Thursday’s landslide.

The victims have been named as Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15 and Max Furse-Kee, 15.

In response to questions from RNZ, Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler confirmed FENZ received a 111 call at 5.48am on Thursday 22 January from a person reporting a slip near the Mt Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.

“Our call takers made contact with the Tauranga City Council, the landowners of the camping ground, and notified them of this information at 5.51am.

“The landslip that was referenced in the 111 call received at 5.48am did not impact life or property and therefore Fire and Emergency did not respond firefighters to attend, instead we notified Tauranga City Council as the landowner responsible.”

Do you know more? Email: sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

At about 9.30am a slip came down at the Beachside Holiday Park at Mount Maunganui, smashing into campervans, tents, vehicles and an ablution block near the Mount Hot Pools.

WorkSafe’s head of inspectorate Rob Pope told RNZ’s Midday Report Tauranga City Council was one of the entities it needed to speak with and understand its part in the event.

When asked if it would be extraordinary for an investigation not to be launched given six people were presumed dead, Pope agreed but said they needed to understand the scope and context first before committing resources to a formal investigation.

A WorkSafe spokesperson told RNZ they were in the “very early stages” of assessing what their role may look like once the search and recovery phase was complete.

“We are currently bringing together a team of inspectors and will be working closely with New Zealand Police to determine next steps.

“We will be looking into the organisations that had a duty of care for everyone at the holiday park, and whether or not they were meeting their health and safety responsibilities.”

Currently, the focus needed to remain on the recovery efforts, the spokesperson said.

“When the time is right, our inspectors will begin engaging with witnesses and technical experts, and gathering evidence from a range of sources including the organisations involved in the operation of the holiday park and the scene.

“In the meantime, our local inspectors have also extended an offer of support to Emergency Management Bay of Plenty and other agencies to ensure that workers involved in the response are kept safe and healthy.”

Pope told RNZ WorkSafe was working closely with police to coordinate their responses after the “incredibly tragic event”.

He did not have a timeframe for when a decision on a formal investigation would be made, but said the inspectors would be working at pace and focused on providing the right level of confidence for the families who wanted answers.

“We will be committed to addressing this issue as quickly as we can.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Morning Report he supported Tauranga City Council’s decision to conduct a full, independent review into the landslide.

“There’s lots of concerns that people have about why they weren’t evacuated sooner. I think they are very legitimate, very good questions that need answers.”

RNZ has approached the Tauranga City Council for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand