Australian victim of White Island volcanic eruption dies in hospital, toll rises to 20

A young Melbourne woman remains in hospital after the New Zealand volcanic eruption which claimed her sister and now also her father.

The 20th person to die as a result of the White Island volcanic eruption has been named as Melbourne father Paul Browitt.

Mr Browitt, whose daughter Krystal, 21, was killed in the December 9 disaster last year, succumbed to his critical injuries overnight.

The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne has confirmed the patient was a man.

Only three Australians were being treated there for injuries from the disaster.

Adelaide woman Lisa Dallow and Mr Browitt’s daughter Stephanie, 23, remain in the hospital for treatment. One is in a stable condition and the other is still critical.

Mr Browitt’s wife, Maria, stayed on the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner while her husband and daughters toured the island.

She is reportedly keeping a bedside vigil as her surviving daughter attempts to recover from her injuries and burns.

Ms Dallow’s husband, Gavin, and her daughter Zoe Hosking, 15, are among the dead.

Krystal Browitt died while her sister Stephanie Browitt is still in hospital. Their father, Paul, died overnight.

Krystal Browitt.

Stephanie Browitt.

“Police can confirm a further person died in an Australian hospital last night as a result of injuries suffered in the Whakaari/White Island eruption,” Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims said in a statement this morning.

A GoFundMe page for the Browitt family had by Monday afternoon raised more than $76,000.

On January 4, organiser Steven Galea said Maria Browitt wanted to express her appreciation “for all the love and support offered to her and her family during these past few weeks”.

“Unfortunately, she is still unable to personally reach out to anyone at the moment, as her focus remains with her family in the hospital,” Mr Galea said.

Mr Tims said the person’s death overnight brought the official number of dead to 18 – 16 of whom died in New Zealand and two in Australia.

The bodies of two other victims – Kiwi Hayden Marshall-Inman, 40, and Australian Winona Langford, 17 – remain unaccounted for.

They were not found during a recovery of six other bodies from the island in mid-December.

Eighteenth death following Whakaari/White Island incident https://t.co/5c8IObfgJ2 pic.twitter.com/jTLjy3o2iD

— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) January 12, 2020

The eruption was captured from another tour boat. Picture: Allessandro Kauffmann

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Many of the 47 tourists and guides on the island when the volcano erupted were blanketed in the burning ash, steam and toxic gas.

In New Zealand, eight people remain in treatment at Middlemore Hospital, two patients are still being treated at Waikato Hospital, two patients are being treated at Hutt Valley Hospital and one patient is being treated at Christchurch Hospital.

One month on from the disaster, White Island Tours chairman Paul Quinn said no discussions had been held about when, or if, tours might resume.

“We haven’t considered any return to White Island or any derivative thereof,” Quinn told the Herald.

“We have looked at options excluding White Island. We do tours to Moutohorā which has a Kiwi sanctuary. We will at an appropriate time look to see if that is appropriate.

“In terms of Whakaari/White Island that is some distance down the road.”

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Krystal Browitt.

The volcano on December 11, 2019. Picture: AFP Photo/Satellite Image ©2019 Maxar Technologies

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As well as cancelling all tours to White Island, White Island Tours – which is owned by Ngāti Awa Group Holdings – also suspended its tours to nearby Moutohorā/Whale Island after the disaster.

A resumption of tours to the area, including potentially water-based tours which might not take groups on to the island, would have to wait until any changes WorkSafe might make in regards to adventure tourism in the area.

In the immediate days after White Island erupted underneath the tour groups on the island, Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner said she wanted tours to continue.

But talking on the eve of the month anniversary of the tragedy, she told the Herald that if tours were resumed then she could understand why changes could be made by operators, including potentially meaning island landings were off limits.

“The decision on this one is very much in the hands of White Island Tours as to what they feel comfortable doing … whether landing is a future opportunity or not, of if observing from a greater distance may be the better thing,” Turner said.

With AAP and the NZ Herald