Overview
- New Zealand Police identified the two recovered at a Welcome Bay Rd home as 10-year-old Austen Keith Richardson and his grandmother Yao Fang, with their deaths referred to the coroner.
- Recovery operations restarted after sign-off from two independent geotechnical experts, using real-time surveillance to track ground movement.
- Bay of Plenty District Commander Tim Anderson said teams are working layer by layer and that it is apparent some missing people will not be found alive.
- A separate slide struck a nearby campsite, where six people remain unaccounted for, including two 15-year-olds and several adults as reported by The Guardian.
- Local access has been adjusted with a Welcome Bay Rd cordon lifted, while families and the community released tributes and requested space to grieve.