Mark Tangney was on his way to Mount Maunganui for a hike.
He told local media outlet New Zealand Herald that he rushed to help those trapped in the campsite when the landslide hit.
He said heard people screaming and headed to a toilet block where people were trapped inside.
“I was one of the first there. There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear people screaming ‘help us, help us, get us out of here’,” Tangney said.
