Local Iwi spoke with a father who is missing two children at the Mt Maunganui campground landslide, during a karakia service.

Around a dozen people from Mauao Trust and local iwi representatives gathered at the base of Mt Maunganui at 6pm on Friday, joined by the families of the missing – together they held a karakia ceremony.

Authorities believed there were six people missing in the landslide, while police were seeking the whereabouts of a further three.

Tracy Ngatoko, mana whenua from Ngati Ranginui and Ngai Te Rangi, she did what she called an “apakura.”

The rescue operation at Mt Maunganui on Friday night. Kim Baker Wilson

“An apakura is a lamental cry, of sorrow, and basically I called upon our mountain, Mauao, to help all the servicemen that are there and the women that are trying to find those that are still unaccounted for.”

After that, three men said three different incantations.

“Evoking the gods to help with the search, evoking the gods to clear the pathway so that it enables them to do the work that they still need to do across the next few days and ahead of us.

“But more importantly, to be with the families that at this stage, a lot of uncertainty, sorrow, anguish.”

Ngatoko said the three karakia were different -one was directly to the mountain, another was a historical prayer, connecting to the events of the past and its history as a burial ground.

The final karakia was to the elements, asking for the weather to stay good to help the workers with the search.

An ambulance at the scene. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

She said all the machinery stopped during the ceremony, the only noise was the incantations.

“There’s a saying in Māori that goes, he kanohi kitea he hokinga mahara, which basically means a lot of images brings back multitudes of memories. And so it was quite emotional, just walking around the corner down there and seeing the devastation.”

Ngatoko held back tears as she spoke of the emotion she felt watching the families of the missing crying during the silence and prayers.

She spoke to a man who was missing both of his children in the landslide.

“He’s trying to be as positive as possible because his wife isn’t in a good state at the moment, knowing that the children are still stuck there and just can only but send heaps of aroha and empathy to him”

During the ceremony the skies opened up and drenched the area around the mountain. As soon as the ceremony had finished, the sun returned.

Ngatoko said it was a cleansing.

“In one instance, it was a cleansing in terms of what needs to be done and needs to continue to happen. And the other part of it was the spiritual realm which bestowed itself upon the physical realm.

“When those two powers meet, it was a phenomenal feeling.

“It was also a tohu for us, a symbol of the tears of our ancestors. And no doubt, those of the affected families as well.”

There continued to be restricted access to the area and a rāhui in place.