By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Rescue workers combed rubble on Thursday at a campsite in New Zealand as they searched for the missing, children among them, after a landslide triggered by heavy rains that snapped power links to thousands and caused widespread damage.
Homes were evacuated and roads closed as the rain lashed almost the entire eastern seaboard of the North Island, while police estimate the number of missing in single digits after Wednesday's landslide in the tourist spot of Mount Maunganui.
Rescuers will use earthmoving equipment to claw away layers of debris as they work through the night to locate the missing, emergency services said in a statement.
"This is a complex and high-risk environment," added Megan Stiffler, a fire and emergency services official. "The teams will be operating overnight until the search is complete."
The number of missing was in the "single figures", police superintendent Tim Anderson told a press conference, adding, "It is possible we could find someone alive."
Helicopters and search and rescue dogs fanned out in the hunt, while media said 8,000 people are still without power, down from 16,000 earlier. No deaths had yet been confirmed.
SIGNS OF LIFE DETECTED
One witness, Nix Jaques, told Radio NZ she heard an incredibly loud noise as she was about to walk up a mountain.
"I turned around and I could see the land coming down onto some structures," she said. "It came down on an ablutions block - I believe there were some people in the showers - and it shifted a campervan, there was a family with a campervan."
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No voices have been heard in the rubble since fears of further ground movement prompted first responders to withdraw despite detecting signs of life, said fire and emergency commander William Pike.
"My understanding was members of the public ... tried to get into the rubble and did hear some voices," he said, adding that the sounds were also heard by a fire crew at the scene.
"Shortly after our initial crew arrived, we withdrew everyone from the site, due to the possible movement of the slip," Pike said.
Children were among the missing, media said, citing Mark Mitchell, the emergency management minister.
PEOPLE MISSING ELSEWHERE
Police said two people were missing after another landslide struck a house in neighbouring Papamoa, with a third missing after their vehicle was washed away north of Auckland on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was doing all it could to support those affected.
"We are standing with these local communities in the response - and we will stand with them in the recovery too," he added on X.
Transport authorities said roads had been closed in the areas of Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, while local authorities said road damage cut off some small communities.
Weather officials have lifted all North Island warnings as a tropical low moves east.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Additional reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Alistair Bell, Neil Fullick and Clarence Fernandez)
