The following statement has been released by police on behalf of Nils and Anders, dad and uncle of Mt Maunganui landslide victim Måns Loke Bernhardsson.
Måns 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.
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.
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.
Very sad that so many young people have lost their lives. RIP.