WELLINGTON, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The search for victims of Thursday's landslide that buried a holiday campsite at Mount Maunganui on the North Island and left six people unaccounted for is moving into a recovery phase, authorities said.
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said the operation was formally handed over to Police by Fire and Emergency New Zealand at 11:20 a.m. Saturday local time.
He said human remains had been found under the slip and formal identification is proceeding.
Search teams and heavy machinery are continuing to clear sodden debris toward an amenities block thought to have been destroyed by the massive slip, he said, adding that the building suffered "catastrophic damage."
The large landslide struck the holiday park at the base of Mount Maunganui in the Bay of Plenty region around 9:30 a.m. local time Thursday.
In another landslide in the Bay of Plenty, two people were confirmed dead after a slip destroyed a home in Papamoa early Thursday, police said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who met some of the affected families on Friday, said there is "a huge amount of grief" and anxiety as the families wait for news, calling the disaster an absolute tragedy for New Zealand.
Heavy rain and flooding have battered parts of the North Island, leaving thousands without power and isolating some communities on the east coast. ■
