White Island volcano eruption victims named as soldiers retrieve bodies
After days of frustration and worry, one family has received the news they feared. These are the others waiting for news on their missing loved ones.
Four days on from the White Island eruption disaster, as a team of elite New Zealand soldiers bring six bodies back from the volatile volcano, some loved ones still face the agonising wait of learning where their family is.
Despite conflicting reports, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed yesterday 24 Aussies and four permanent residents had been caught up in the volcanic eruption.
There were 47 people on the volcano when it erupted, meaning more than half the people involved in the tragedy were Australian.
As of late last night, nine Aussies have been confirmed dead by police, however in a press conference this morning, Foreign Minister Marise Payne alluded that the total number of Australians killed in the eruption would be 15.
When asked the nationalities of the six bodies flown to a New Zealand navy ship earlier today, Ms Payne said the formal identification process still needed to be done — but the expectation was that all six were Australian.
“I think it is difficult to say in advance of the formal process but we know, and we have been advised by authorities, that that is expected to be the case, yes,” she said.
Eight people had to be left on the island on Tuesday as people rushed to get away from the falling clouds of ash.
The final two bodies, which New Zealand authorities were forced to leave after their mission took “longer than expected”, are likely the two White Island tour guides, Hayden Marshall-Inman and Tipene Maangi.
Images of our personnel and @NZPolice involved in the recovery operation today at Whakaari / #WhiteIsland. pic.twitter.com/WzYOhWk4to
— NZ Defence Force (@NZDefenceForce) December 13, 2019
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police and military divers were in the water “as we speak” looking for at least one body spotted in the ocean.
“One body has been sighted in the water,” Mr Bush said.
“That’s why we’re diving in that area at the moment..there was an attempt to recover that body but it was unsuccessful because of the weather conditions...To say it was choppy would be an understatement.”
Divers are also looking for the second body after drone searches failed to locate it on the island.
Ms Payne also confirmed 11 Australians had arrived home and are in hospitals receiving world-class burns treatment. One more, a permanent resident, will hopefully be medevaced home before the week ends.
RELATED: Six bodies removed from eruption site
Of the 12, 10 are NSW residents. The remaining two have been flown to Melbourne.
Under tremendous pressure from local families and despite the risk of another eruption, New Zealand soldiers had four hours to complete the dangerous retrieval of the eight bodies from the island this morning.
The team of eight that actually went onto the island were all from New Zealand’s highly-trained explosive ordenance team. Within a few hours, the team found six bodies and managed to quickly transport them off the island where they were flown to military frigate HMNZS Wellington anchored off the coast.
These are the countries caught up in the horrific eruption and the people confirmed dead.
MISSING AUSTRALIANS
Martin Hollander, 48, and his wife Barbara, 50, from Sydney’s North Shore, are believed to have died.
Their two teenage sons, Berend (known as Ben) and Matthew Hollander, students at Sydney high school Knox Grammar, died in hospital earlier this week.
In a statement supplied to ABC Eyewitness News Chicago and shared with news.com.au, Barbara’s parents Larry and Norma Noesen confirmed they had lost hope the couple would be found alive.
“We are together with our family grieving the loss of our loved ones. Our amazing daughter Barbara Hollander and our son-in-law Martin Hollander were a wonderful couple and parents to our grandsons, Ben (16) and Matthew (13),” the couple said.
“We appreciate all the support and contact from our friends and family. During this trying time we ask for privacy as we process all the tragic events that have occurred. A memorial service will be planned for the summer/fall of 2020.”
North Sydney family Anthony Langford, his wife Kristine Langford and their 17-year-old daughter Winona are all missing but feared to be the bodies retrieved from the island today.
Winona’s aunt took to Facebook to say authorities “don’t believe … they have survived”.
Anthony and Kristine’s son Jesse, 19, survived the eruption and is in hospital severely burned.
Krystal Browitt, a 21-year-old studying veterinary nursing, is still missing but believed to be one of the bodies collected today.
She was on the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas to celebrate her 21st birthday with her family.
Her father Paul was medevaced to Melbourne on Thursday morning, her older sister Stephanie is in a New Zealand hospital with severe burns and her mother Marie, who decided not to go on the volcano tour, is awaiting news.
AUSTRALIANS IN HOSPITAL
Jesse Langford, 19, is in hospital with severe burns. According to the aforementioned Facebook post, it’s believed the Sydney teenager has lost both his parents and sister in the eruption.
Lisa Dallow, 48, has been flown to Melbourne to receive treatment at The Alfred Hospital’s special burns unit. She has 57 per cent burns to her body and internal injuries. Her husband Gavin, 52, and daughter Zoe, 15, were killed in the eruption.
Paul Browitt, whose daughter Krystal is believed to have died, was also flown to The Alfred Hospital yesterday morning for treatment.
His 23-year-old daughter Stephanie is in a hospital in Christchurch with severe burns. Her uninjured mother is by her bedside.
Nick and Marion London, a couple from Engadine in Sydney’s south, are also in hospital.
AUSTRALIANS CONFIRMED DEAD
Julie Richards, 47 and her 20-year-old daughter Jessica were confirmed dead yesterday. The mother and daughter, from Brisbane, had a love for cruising and had been on the day trip from Ovation of the Seas when the eruption killed them.
Gavin Dallow, from Adelaide, was killed by the volcano. His 15-year-old stepdaughter Zoe is believed to still be on the island but presumed dead.
Richard Elzer, 32 and Karla Matthews, 32, are also confirmed dead.
The high-school sweethearts, from Coffs Harbour on NSW’s Central Coast, had been travelling with a group of friends on the cruise ship.
Their friend Jason Griffiths, 33, died in hospital after suffering severe burns. Other friends, who had been travelling with the three, are at the bedside of another severely burnt friend, believed to have burns to 80 per cent of his body.
The final two Aussies confirmed dead were the Hollander brothers from Sydney.
Berend, 16, and Matthew, 13, both died in hospital from severe burns to their bodies. Their parents, according to the statement above, are believed to have died.
OTHER COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY THE ERUPTION
Two New Zealand tour guides tragically died in the eruption.
Hayden Marshall-Inman had worked for White Island Tours for years before he was killed by the volcano. Tipene Maangi also died.
Two more Kiwi guides, Kelsey Waghorn and Jake Milbank, was badly burnt in the eruption. They are both fighting for their lives.
German woman Angelika Westenfelder, 63 and her husband Horst, 63, are still missing.
Two Americans Lauren Urey, 32, and her husband Matthew, 36, are in hospital with severe burns. They were in New Zealand on their honeymoon.
Another American couple, Ivy and Rick Reed, are believed to be in hospital with severe burns.
NATIONALITIES CAUGHT IN THE WHITE ISLAND ERUPTION
24 Australians
Nine Americans
Two British
Four Germans
Five New Zealanders
Two Chinese
One Malaysian
Gross injury from ‘sexually-frustrated’ attack
A man claims he is lucky to be alive after taking a swim and becoming yet another victim to a rowdy dolphin stalking the waters in Japan.
Qantas’ huge payout to sacked workers
Qantas has been ordered to pay an eye-watering amount to compensate three of the 1700 workers who were illegally fired during the Covid pandemic.
Tributes flow after pilot’s ‘sudden’ death
Family of a Qantaslink pilot have paid tribute to their “super human” brother and a “light in many people’s lives” following his “sudden and unexpected” death.