BBC Breakfast star shares heartbreaking update minutes into live broadcast

BBC Breakfast: Charlie Stayt tries to cut off Chris Bryant

A BBC Breakfast star shared a heartbreaking update just minutes into Friday’s (January 23) live broadcast. Today’s edition of the hit morning programme was hosted by Charlie Stayt and Sarah Campbell, with the pair updating viewers on the latest news from across the UK and around the world.

They were joined in the studio by Mike Bushell, who handled the sports news, while Matt Taylor delivered regular weather forecasts. At the start of the show, Sarah shared a sad update after a landslide took place at a campsite in New Zealand earlier this week.

Police said emergency crews were still searching for at least six people, including two teenagers, who are believed missing beneath the debris of a landslide which struck Mount Maunganui on Thursday (January 22). Two bodies have been recovered from a nearby house in the community of Welcome Bay.

“The search continues for missing people after a landslide hit a popular campsite in Mount Maunganui on New Zealand’s North Island. Two teenagers remain unaccounted for, with the youngest aged 15 years old,” Sarah said.

Sarah Campbell shared a heartbreaking update on Friday (Image: BBC)

TVNZ corrrespondent Jordyn Rudd, who was reporting live from the campsite, explained: “Almost two days later and this is very much still an active and evolving situation – one officials are still calling a rescue operation. We’ve had no solid indication of that being otherwise.

“There are still dozens of fire engines, police, ambulance staff behind me, clearing the dirt and debris as they try and find those still missing. Police confirmed this afternoon local time that six people are unaccounted for, and three others are on a list of campers who had not checked out of the campground.”

The first landslide hit a house in Welcome Bay at 4.50am, police said. Two people escaped the house, and the bodies of two who were trapped inside were recovered hours later, the emergency management minister, Mark Mitchell, said. The victims are reportedly a child and his grandmother.

Later the same morning, emergency services were called to a second slide at the base of nearby Mount Maunganui, also on the North Island. The rubble hit Beachside Holiday Park in a town named after the extinct volcano. Images showed vehicles, travel trailers and an shower block crushed by debris.

Two people have died after devastating landslides in New Zealand (Image: BBC)

In a pre-recorded package, Phil Mercer later said on BBC Breakfast: “It could be days before the scale of this tragedy on New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty is known. After record-breaking rainfall, part of a hillside collapsed, burying camper vans, a shower block and other structures under tonnes of mud.

“At least six people are missing, among them are two teenage boys. The whereabouts of three other campers are unknown, although they may have left the holiday park at Mount Maunganui before the landslide. Rescuers using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs are continuing their painstaking work. The search is described as complex and high risk because of the unstable nature of the grounds.”

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has visited the site and met families affected by the disaster. He said that New Zealand grieves with them.

Phil concluded: “Violent storms have triggered landslides and widespread flooding. Several communities have been cut off. More thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast for the weekend.”