UPDATED: New Zealand Natural ice cream shop closed for about five minutes a staff member at the mall said. [5:17PM]
A section of the ceiling at Northlands Mall collapsed on Sunday resulting in water flooding part of the centre.

Shoppers reported hearing a loud bang before the water was seen gushing out of a hole in the ceiling.

Water was also pouring from light fixtures.

A shopper told Chris Lynch Media the New Zealand Natural ice cream shop was forced to close for a short time.

Another customer said they were a bit shocked that the area wasn’t closed off to the public.

However, security staff did deploy caution signs for the wet conditions.

An anonymous staff member from the mall expressed discontent with the management’s decision-making during challenging conditions, saying, “The insistence on keeping our stores operational under such circumstances was honestly a misstep by the mall management.”

The employee highlighted the distress among the staff, adding, “Concerns escalated throughout the day as we observed cracks forming in the ceilings and water leaking through them.”

Northlands Mall didn’t respond to a request for comment.