White Island volcano: Sydney dad Chris Cozad named as latest victim of deadly eruption
One of the Australians tragically killed in the deadly volcanic eruption off New Zealand has been named as a Sydney father, described as the ‘perfect dad’.
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One of the Australian victims killed in the volcanic eruption off New Zealand has been named as Sydney father Chris Cozad.
Mr Cozad was evacuated from the devastating incident on White Island and died five days later, becoming the 16th death, with his identity confirmed today.
The official death toll now sits at 19. The 43-year-old was on Ovation of the Seas cruise ship celebrating his 20-year wedding anniversary with his family when the disaster occurred.
“I will forever treasure every second I got to spend with him, the values he has instilled within me and the love he showered me, my sisters and my mum in,” Mr Cozad’s daughter Emily said in a post on social media.
“He is someone I will forever look up to and he will be so so so missed. He was and forever will be, the most perfect dad.”
NZ SEARCH SUSPENDED
New Zealand Police has suspended the search for two bodies left on White Island. Bay of Plenty District Commander, Superintendent Andy McGregor issued a statement saying the decision followed extensive shoreline and substantial aerial searches from east of White Island to north of Cape Runaway.
“Sadly no further items of significance have been located,” he said. “The families of the two missing people have been informed of this decision.
“Police remain ready to respond if new information comes to light.”
It comes after the volcano tragedy death toll rose again after another victim died in a New Zealand hospital. Local police were advised the person, who has not been identified, passed away last night at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
The death brings the official toll to 17, not including the two people who remain missing.
An update from New Zealand’s Ministry of Health last Friday said 14 patients were being treated at hospitals across the country, 10 of which were in a critical condition.
Thirteen patients had been transferred to Australia, and one had since died.
Last week, authorities said they believed the final two people unaccounted for following the White Island volcano tragedy on December 9 have been “washed out to sea”.
Providing an update on the recovery effort, New Zealand Police Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement said authorities believe the bodies of Winona Langford, 17, from Sydney and tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman from New Zealand were swept away in a “significant weather event” overnight on December 9.
“Our imagery shows us that it is very clear that two of the eight bodies we believe that were in or near a stream that runs off the island and into the sea were no longer present on the island,” he said.
“We believe that to be the case since the 10th of December, but we needed to go on to the island to confirm that, and we have done that twice. First on the 13th of December when the soldiers … went on and recovered the six bodies.
“At the same time, they walked stream three times, they came down the stream to the sea, they took a break and then they went back up the stream to the area where we believe the two bodies had been. And then came back down again.
“They confirmed what we believe to be true from the aerial imagery, and that is that the two bodies were no longer there. It is my strong view that I cannot be absolute positive that the
two bodies who had been in that water course were washed out to sea.”
Mr Clements said authorities believe the body of a male off the Bay of Plenty adjacent to the jetty was Marshall-Inman.
“There was no visual identification. But the circumstances are such that I believe that person to be Hayden,” he said.
Winona’s brother Jesse Langford remains in a coma in a Sydney hospital.
Jesse’s parents, Kristine, 45, and Anthony, 51, were killed in the eruption.
The Australian reported that Jesse suffered 80-90 per cent of burns to his body and is currently being cared for at Sydney's Royal North Shore hospital where relatives have visited him.
“Jesse is recovering in hospital, receiving excellent care,” the family said in a statement.
“Anthony and Kristine, loving parents to Jesse and Winona, were a wonderful couple and devoted to both their immediate and extended families. They will be greatly missed by all who knew them.”
It comes as wild weather forced police to postpone their search for the Sydney teenager and New Zealander, Marshall-Inman.
Isolated showers lashed the Bay of Plenty, and a major front is expected to bring heavy rain to White Island throughout Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement told RNZ that police had begun actively searching the eastern Bay of Plenty coastline around Cape Runaway 70.8km away, and would continue to look.
“We’ll keep trying until we can get out there on the surface of the water … the Eagle helicopter has been able to deploy over to Cape Runaway, over to that part of the coast,” he said.
“We think if there was going to be any drift in the tide, of a body that was on the surface of the water anyway, it could potentially go that way so we have been searching that way as well.”
On Tuesday, an Eagle helicopter left the mainland at dawn, only to be forced to return to shore.
Police attempted to conduct a shoreline search of the active volcano, where they believe the missing bodies could be, but were unsuccessful.
NURSE THAT CARED FOR VICTIMS DIES
An intensive care nurse who worked to help White Island volcano victims has tragically died in a road crash in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Herald reports that Sheila Cheng, 50, died after the car she was a passenger in and another vehicle collided head-on on a Bay of Plenty highway last Saturday.
Her husband, Rhys Bugden, 49, was in the front passenger seat and suffered critical internal injuries, his mother Pam Greenhalgh said.
New Zealand police said the cause of the crash – which left five people injured – was under investigation.
The driver of the other car remains in hospital.
RESCUERS ‘GASPING FOR AIR’
More details emerged last week about the team tasked with retrieving the bodies of the dead and the difficult conditions rescuers faced.
Days after the White Island volcano erupted, a team of specialist soldiers were sent to retrieve those lost in the tragedy.
Seven members of the New Zealand Defence Force’s elite SAS E Squadron and their commander boarded the HMNZS Wellington and made their way to White Island.
The soldiers wore three layers of protective clothing and a breathing set, which weighed a hefty 15kg.
They then transferred from the HMNZS Wellington to inflatable boat, which took them to White Island’s ash-covered jetty.
New Zealand Defence senior officer Colonel Rian McKinstry told the NZ Herald he “feared for them”.
“But there was no sense that (the soldiers) had concern for themselves and that risk,” he said.
He described how the “exhausted” soldiers, drenched in sweat, were “gasping” for fresh air after the retrieval of the dead.
“One soldier told me that he was down on his hands and knees taking in air,” Colonel McKinstry said.
“He looked up and everyone else was doing exactly the same thing.
“They were exhausted, the physical toll was just severe dehydration.
“There was also a strong sense of relief … they were relieved that they had gotten the job done.”
Colonel McKinstry also revealed members of the elite team, which comprised of male and female members, were involved in the recovery efforts of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and the March 15 terror attack.
“Tragically, they all have some experience in this type of work,” he told the NZ Herald.
“But none of them had experience in wearing that kind of gear for two or three hours on an active volcano.
The unit’s commander, who could only be identified as “Matt”, told local media that when they reached the bodies, they were faced with dense mud.
“It was unbelievable; not a condition we train for or ever expect to operate in, it’s just so much hotter than you could expect,” he said.
Once they discovered the bodies, soldiers quickly moved the victims to a site where they could be flown back to the HMNZS Wellington.
He said by the time his team got off the island they were pretty “crook”.
They have since been given a clean bill of medical health, and were glad they were able to bring six victims back to their families.
Colonel McKinstry said: “There were a few people vomiting, drinking water, and everyone was very fatigued.
“These guys have gone past the limits of endurance, what’s taken them past some of those limits has been their professionalism, but it’s also their human nature – their understanding of the situation, and not wanting to not achieve this task,” he said.
– with staff writers and AAP
Originally published as White Island volcano: Sydney dad Chris Cozad named as latest victim of deadly eruption