Swedish landslide victim was weeks away from turning 21

Thursday, 29 January 2026

Måns Loke Bernhardsson was one of the landslide victims.

A Swedish tourist lost in the Mount Maunganui landslide was about to celebrate his 21st birthday.

Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, was one of six who died when the hill behind the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park gave way after a deluge of rain last Thursday.

Bernhardsson was from Torslanda in Gothenburg and was due to turn 21 on February 22.

His mother Annika declined to comment on Thursday morning, but his father and uncle later released a statement in which they said Bernhardsson was “a super kind and loveable member of our family”.

“Back home in Sweden, he had many friends and was loved by all those friends and family very deeply,” the statement read.

“He was a fantastic artist and was extremely talented. Måns was artistic, which was one of the many things we loved about him.

“He was incredibly athletic and loved downhill skiing and gymnastics.

“Måns was on holiday in New Zealand on what was a ‘hastily’ booked trip with two of his friends.

“Him and his friends were adventuring around in their campervan, travelling both the North and South Islands.

“He loved New Zealand, and often told us that he would like to stay here as long as possible.

“Our hearts are broken, and we are going to miss Måns dearly. He was a cherished member of our family and it is going to be difficult to get used to not having him around.

Recovery efforts were again suspended at Mount Maunganui for about three hours today. Potential land movement was detected at the disaster site, but work resumed at two this afternoon.

“We have received overwhelming support from community, officials, local iwi, and people back home. We are very grateful for their support through this difficult time and we want to express our gratitude.”

At a Coroners Court hearing on Thursday, police said they had recovered a body from the site of the landslide that they believed to be Bernhardsson.

Detective Sergeant Brent Griffiths told the court the body was found on Saturday.

There was a picture of him in a hippy van at the site wearing grey sweatpants and black boxer shorts and two woven bracelets, one black with a skullhead. That’s what was found on the body, Griffiths said.

Coroner Louella Dunn formally confirmed the identity of Bernhardsson at the hearing.

On Wednesday, at a separate Coroners Court hearing, police said they believed they had recovered the body of Max Furse-Kee, 15, who became the first victim to be formally identified.

The other four victims are: Sharon Maccanico, Lisa Anne Maclennan, Susan Doreen Knowles and Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler

Crews working at the site of the Mount Maunganui slip site.

Recovery efforts ongoing

Earlier in the day, recovery efforts were suspended - just after 10.30am - when a land movement censor halted work.

But after confirmation from experts that the area was safe to enter operations resumed in the afternoon.

“Following consultation with a number of experts on the ground, the recovery teams have been given the green light to continue with the recovery,” Detective Inspector Lew Warner said.

“While the suspension of work is frustrating for everybody involved, the correct measures must be taken to ensure the safety of everybody at the scene.

“I want to reiterate that it is absolutely necessary that we do everything in our power to keep the recovery team safe.

“These people have been working tirelessly in a range of testing conditions across the last week, to bring families their loved ones back.”

An earlier version of this story referred to Bernhardsson as “autistic” in his family’s statement. Police, who shared the statement, have since corrected that to “artistic”. The story has been updated. (Amended 7.08pm on January 29, 2026)