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A second firefighter caught in a landslide on Auckland’s west coast has died taking the Cyclone Gabrielle death toll to six, while authorities and emergency responders fear there are more to come.
Ex-tropical cyclone ripped through the upper and eastern North Island this week, leaving a devastating path of destruction, particularly in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions.
Volunteer firefighters Craig Stevens and his colleague Dave van Zwanenberg were investigating flooding in a house on Motutara Rd, Muriwai when a landslide happened and the house collapsed on Monday night.
The pair were both trapped.
READ MORE:
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Fears cyclone death toll will rise, as bodies seen floating in water
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Death in Gisborne takes Gabrielle toll to five
* Cyclone Gabrielle: Body seen in floodwaters, fears of more deaths than confirmed four
Stevens was rescued, but he was badly injured. Fire and Emergency New Zealand confirmed on Thursday night he’d died.
Do you know more? Email blair.ensor@stuff.co.nz
Van Zwanenberg’s body was recovered on Wednesday.
This is what we know about those who’ve died so far.
Supplied
Dave van Zwanenberg with his wife, Amy.
Volunteer firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens
In the Auckland region, Fire and Emergency recovered the body of a missing volunteer firefighter Dave van Zwanenberg from a landslide in Muriwai on Wednesday afternoon. Van Zwanenberg, a veterinarian, pilot and father of two, and his colleague Craig Stevens were investigating flooding in a house on Motutara Rd, when a landslide happened and the house collapsed on Monday night. Stevens was rescued, but badly injured. On Thursday night, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said he’d also died.
Death of a toddler
In Eksdale, Hawke’s Bay, the body of a toddler was found on Wednesday afternoon. The child is thought to have been caught in rising floodwaters on Tuesday.
Woman caught in a landslide
Civil Defence confirmed a Hawke’s Bay woman died after a bank collapsed onto her Matahorua Rd, Putorino home on Tuesday. Emergency services had attempted to locate and rescue the trapped woman but were unable to reach her.
A Matahorua Rd resident, communicating via Starlink Internet connected to a generator, said those living on the remote stretch of road, north of Napier, were stranded without power or phone coverage. The cyclone had hit the area hard with large slips blocking the road, and farmers had been unable to check on one another to make sure they were OK.
Body on a beach
In Napier, police found a body of a woman on the shore at Bay View on Tuesday night.
Caught in flood water
Police announced on Thursday that a man in aged in his 60s had died after he got caught in flood water in Gisborne.
More than 1400 people have been reported as uncontactable, police said on Wednesday.
Follow Stuff’s live blog for the latest updates.
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