NZ volcano eruption: Emergency workers prepare to recover bodies from White Island
Under pressure from local families and despite the risk of another eruption, police are finalising a plan to recover eight bodies from White Island tomorrow.
Under tremendous pressure from local families and despite the risk of another eruption, New Zealand emergency workers will attempt the dangerous retrieval of eight bodies from Whakaari on Friday morning.
Deputy Commissioner John Tims said police were “finalising a plan” to recover the bodies off White Island following an emergency committee meeting in Whakatane on Thursday.
Families will be briefed on the plan on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the first Australian survivors of the White Island eruption have been brought home, after being airlifted from hospitals around New Zealand.
Five people were sent to burns units in NSW and Victoria, while more are on their way.
Four patients arrived overnight. Three were taken to Sydney’s Concord Hospital and one to Royal North Shore Hospital to receive critical care. A fifth patient was flown to Essendon airport in Melbourne and transferred to The Alfred Hospital on Thursday morning.
Scott Morrison confirmed six other survivors were yet to be airlifted to burns units, while warning “worse news” could be expected in the days to come regarding the victims caught up in the disaster.
The Prime Minister said five medical evacuations had been completed and another six were pending, leaving one Australian in New Zealand.
“We will have, within the next 24 hours, only one Australian who will remain hospitalised in New Zealand,” he said.
A total of nine Australians have been confirmed dead following the explosion on the island.
But the official toll is expected to rise with 10 other Australians missing or missing presumed dead, Mr Morrison said.
“In the days ahead, there will be worse news, based on what I’ve just relayed to you,” he said.
Mr Morrison thanked those who had been involved in supporting the families and friends of those who are missing and presumed dead.
“I want to thank all of those who have been working in the New Zealand hospitals, in those burns units, providing amazing care and support,” Mr Morrison said. “I want to thank our Defence Forces for the role that they’ve been playing in evacuating those Australians in hospital back to Australia where they can be closer to family and where they can get the ongoing attention and care they will need.” He said he expected the survivors would face a difficult rehabilitation process as a result of their injuries.
The airlift came as it was confirmed Knox Grammar students Matthew Hollander, 13, and his brother Berend, 16, had died in hospital and their parents Barbara and Martin remain unaccounted for.
The news of the Sydney brothers’ deaths brings the Australian death toll from the tragedy to nine, with New Zealand police confirming the deaths of eight people in total, with eight still missing presumed dead on the island.
It comes as a number of Australian survivors were returned home. Patients have been flown to Essendon airport in Melbourne and were being transferred to The Alfred Hospital on Thursday morning.
The exact number of patients is unknown so far.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the five medical evacuations had been completed and another six were pending, leaving one person in NZ. “We will have, within the next 24 hours, only one Australian who will remain hospitalised in New Zealand,” he said on Thursday.
Police yesterday named Adelaide lawyer Gavin Dallow, 53, his stepdaughter Zoe Hosking, 15, Brisbane mother and IT developer Julie Richards, 47, and her vet science student daughter Jessica, 20, Coffs Harbour couple Richard Elzer and Karla Mathews, both 32 and Melbourne vet nursing student Krystal Browitt, 21 as being officially missing, alongside New Zealanders tour guides Hayden Marshall-Inman and Tipene Maangi.
All but Ms Browitt have been confirmed as dead or presumed dead by family.
Ms Browitt’s father, Paul, was on Wednesday in a coma in an Auckland hospital, while her sister Stephanie was in a Christchurch burns unit, with both expected to be taken to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital on Thursday, according to a Herald Sun report.
Her mother, Marie, reportedly escaped the tragedy unharmed, having opted not to tour White Island and instead remained on the cruise liner.
Overnight, DFAT confirmed Coffs Harbour man Jason Griffiths, 33, also died in hospital.
Tributes paid to schoolboy brothers
In a statement released through Knox Grammar, the Hollander brothers’ family said they were “absolutely heartbroken” at the teens’ deaths.
“Ben and Matthew were wonderfully kind and spirited boys who lived short but very fulsome lives,” the family said.
“They loved Knox and all their friends, and the Australian sports and outdoor lifestyle they adopted on moving from the United States six years ago.
“They had a positive and lasting impact on everyone’s paths they crossed. The family requests privacy at this difficult time.”
Knox Grammar confirmed the worst in a letter to parents overnight, with headmaster Scott James calling on the school community to take time to reflect on the “devastating loss”.
“Matthew was a vibrant member of the Class of 2023,” Mr James said.
“He was involved in Cadets and represented the school in basketball, squash and debating.
“He was elected as a Mentor Representative in 2018/19.”
Mr James said Matthew had a close circle of friends and was popular amongst his peers.
“He was always enthusiastic about life and was actively involved in school and year group activities.”
Mr James said Berend, known as Ben, was actively engaged in sports and co-curricular activities at Knox, developing a passion for AFL, Cadets, CRU and especially baseball.
“He had a great love for the outdoors and camp. Ben was a compassionate and enthusiastic student, with an interest in software design,” Mr James said.
“Ben’s engaging smile and quirky sense of humour made him a good mate to his close group of friends and a welcome member to every classroom.”
Mr James said the boys’ parents remained unaccounted for.
“I remain in close contact with the relatives and I will provide a further update when it is available,” he said.
“Please keep the family, their relatives and the rest of Knox community in your prayers and thoughts.”
Mr James urged parents to do everything they could to support their sons and each other, offering counselling from the school’s head of psychology and priest if required.
It has emerged that Zoe Hosking’s mother, Santos engineer Lisa Dallow, 48, is among 22 volcano victims not named by police for privacy reasons, who remain in a critical condition in hospital, requiring airway support to breathe.
Ms Dallow is fighting for her life in a Hamilton hospital, in a coma with burns to 57 per cent of her body.
Retired Engadine couple Marion and Nick London, both 56, are also in hospital — Marion in a critical condition.
North Willoughby family Anthony Langford, his wife Kristine, son Jesse, 19, and daughter Winona, 17, remain unaccounted for, amid unconfirmed reports that Jesse is in hospital.
Martin Hollander’s LinkedIn page lists him as a freight investment manager at Transport for NSW, and as the investment director of Singapore-based company Wipunen Incrementum Capital.
The Knox Old Grammarian is also listed as a former executive director of Barangaroo Private Holdings, and as NSW branch council secretary of the Australian Republican Movement.
Eighth person dies in hospital
Earlier on Thursday, an eighth unidentified person died in hospital. The deaths bring the total number of those dead and presumed dead to 18.
New Zealand police on Thursday morning said two people — one believed to be Coffs Harbour man Jason Griffiths, whose death was confirmed on Wednesday night by his friends — had died in the last 24 hours.
“One was being treated at Middlemore Hospital and one at Waikato Hospital,” police said in a statement.
“Police remain focused on supporting families at this terrible time.”
The official death toll sits at 10, with a further eight bodies believed to still be on the island following Monday’s eruption.
The nine identified Australians are: Sydney schoolboys Matthew and Berend Hollander, 13 and 16, Adelaide man Gavin Dallow, 53, his stepdaughter Zoe Hosking, 15, Brisbane mother Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20 and Coffs Harbour couple Richard Elzer and Karla Mathews, both 32. The two New Zealanders are Mr Marshall-Inman and Tipene Maangi.
Other Australians remain unaccounted for, including North Willoughby family Anthony Langford, his wife, Kristine, and daughter Winona, 17, and Melbourne woman Krystal Browitt, 21.
Reports surfaced yesterday that the Langfords’ son Jesse was alive and in hospital.
Three friends confirmed dead
Jason Griffiths, Karla Mathews and Richard Elzer parted ways with six of their closest friends on Monday afternoon, with no way of knowing the fate that awaited them.
When the volcano on White Island blew its top shortly after 2pm local time, Karla and Richard, a couple from Coffs Harbour in NSW, were the first to die.
Jason, 33, suffered burns to 80 per cent of his body and succumbed to his horrific injuries in hospital two days later on Wednesday night.
The Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement on behalf of the trio’s six friends, Alex, Daniel, Ellie, Leanne, Paul and Samantha.
“On the 4th of December 2019, we embarked upon a cruise as a group of 9 close friends who were looking forward to a wonderful holiday together,” they said.
“We enjoyed the first 5 days of our trip and have many memories that will stay with us forever.
But in a tragic instant, their world was turned upside down when the volcano on White Island erupted on Monday.
“On the 9th of December 2019, we were devastated by the news that three of our friends were visiting White Island on a shore excursion during the time of the eruption.
“Some time later, we discovered that two of our friends, Richard Elzer and Karla Mathews, were still on the island.
“We then located our third friend, Jason Griffiths, in a hospital in the early hours of the next morning. From that moment until the moment of his passing, Jason was surrounded by friends and family members.
Jason’s grieving sister, Melissa, rushed to New Zealand to be by her brother’s side.
Tragically, she arrived in Auckland on Wednesday night to find her beloved brother had already died.
“I was too late, now I just have to bring him home,” Ms Griffiths posted on Facebook.
Just hours earlier, Ms Griffiths had posted, “I’m coming brother, please hold on. I’ll be there in a couple of hours. I love you, you got this!”
Ms Griffith’s pain is being felt by Alex, Daniel, Ellie, Leanne, Paul and Samantha, the group of six survivors that left Australia as a group of nine.
“We are incredibly saddened to have lost three of our closest friends,” they said.
Additional reporting by Keiran Gair and AAP
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