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Outside the cordon, far below the slip in Mount Maunganui which claimed six lives, bunches of flowers continue to multiply and a remembrance tree has been created to carry messages for the bereaved and lost.
Five days after the deadly landslide hit the local campground on January 22, work continues to recover the missing, despite setbacks over the weekend.
The search area was evacuated on Sunday at about 11.50am, after a contractor driver noticed potential instability on the face of the slip, Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said.
“The safety of the people working on the recovery is at the front of our mind, and the risk today is too significant to allow us to carry on.
“Families have been told of the decision and our commitment to resume work as soon as possible,” he said.
Anderson said the decision was made following advice by two independent geotechnical experts.
“Rain and wind is continuing to complicate the recovery effort and a crack has now been seen above the slip area.
“The landslide material the recovery teams are working in is clay-like, it is incredibly wet and very heavy.
“Simple tasks are not simple and the work is exhausting.
“The decision to postpone our efforts to reunite families with their loved ones is difficult, and it is not something we do unless there are very real concerns.”
Anderson said additional staff are being brought into the district to relieve staff working on the recovery.
“Everyone involved is committed to bringing families’ loved ones home.
“It is exhausting, gruelling work and I’m incredibly proud of them.”
Anderson said the recovery effort resumed at 10.30am yesterday.
“Additional monitoring equipment has been brought in and specialist crews removed loose material that was of concern above the slip area this morning.
“This has meant recovery teams are able to return to work and continue the effort to return loved ones to their families.
“The safety of everyone working at the slip is important to us, and we will continue to monitor the hillside closely.”
