14 February

This afternoon Fire and Emergency's Urban Search and Rescue crews continued their search at the site of the landslide in Muriwai for the second missing firefighter.

Fire and Emergency Chief Executive Kerry Gregory says the crews have stood down operations for tonight as conditions are not safe to work in the dark. We are focussed on preparing for the search to resume tomorrow morning.

We are doing everything we can to get our missing firefighter, friend, colleague and loved one back in what is a very challenging operation.

The focus now is on planning for work to restart tomorrow morning with a keen focus on safety given the current conditions at the Muriwai site.

We are also ensuring we support the whanau of the affected firefighters and the other members of their brigade as the impact of this situation is still very raw.

There is no further information at this time and we will provide a further update tomorrow morning in person at the Regional Headquarters.

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