Another cliff collapse

A second large slip has fallen from the cliffs at Cape Kidnappers, narrowly missing two walkers. The beach route to the cape, popular with tourists going to see the cape gannet colony, has been closed to the public since a large slip on January 23 seriously injured two people. On Saturday, another large slip, similar in size to the first, occurred next to the first one, and it is believed that a further smaller slip may have occurred the following day. A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said two people were walking in the area on Saturday and narrowly escaped being in the path of the second rockfall. They were ‘‘very shaken’’, she said. The spokeswoman said the geologist engaged by the council warned there was a lot of loose material in the vicinity and that further rockfalls were likely. A geological report is being undertaken ‘‘with urgency’’ she said, and the area remained closed to the public until further notice. Earlier this week, one of the two walkers hit by the first slip, Jungho Son, said he thought he was going to die when the torrent of boulders hit him and his friend. Son, 29, from South Korea, said he and his friend, a woman in her 20s, were on their way back from seeing gannets when the slip happened.