WorkSafe extends its sincere condolences to the whānau and friends of the six people missing in the landslide at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on 22 January 2026.
WorkSafe would also like to acknowledge the heroic and dedicated efforts of the New Zealand Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the search and rescue groups and contractors who are supporting the recovery effort.
We're in the very early stages of assessing what our role may look like once the search and recovery phase is 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 needs to remain on the recovery efforts. 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.
