NZ volcano eruption: formal identification process begins

The Chief Coroner Judge says six bodies have been flown to Auckland but “ante-mortem” data was also being examined.

Coroner Deborah Marshall and acting assistant police commissioner Bruce Bird address a press conference in Whakatane. Picture: AP

New Zealand coroners have already started the process of identifying the six bodies recovered from the White Island tragedy.

Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall said six bodies have been flown to Auckland for post-mortem examinations, but “ante-mortem” data was also being examined to help identify the victims.

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“That is information about the person we believe to be deceased gathered before their death,” she said.

“For example, what they were last wearing, what jewellery they might have, any scars or tattoos that might identify them.”

Judge Marshall said any further deaths in hospitals may not require as thorough an investigation.

“That is because the cause of death will be known from the hospital records and those people may already have been identified while they were in hospital,” she said.

Judge Marshall said her team of three coroners plus herself would be working “as hard as we can to return any deceased”.

“I have declared a mass fatality incident which means that a number of agencies are now working together to resolve this tragedy,” she said.

NZ Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Bruce Bird said he was confident in the abilities of the experts to identify the victims according to international processes for disaster management.

“We believe the expertise and numbers of the pathologists based in Auckland can help ensure the process is as smooth, accurate and as swift as possible,” he said.

However he said the stringent process may take some time with police gathering evidence and working with the families of those missing.

“There will be people, we hope, at the scene of this tragedy, gathering evidence from there,” Mr Bird said.

“As we confirm their identities we will release the names of those who have sadly died as soon as their formal identification process has been completed.”

He said recovery teams would not be going to the island until it was safe.

“We have got to be certain of the environmental situation out there on the island,” he said.

“Safety for our staff is a huge priority for us and we’ve got to get this right.”

Mr Bird wouldn’t commit to when the teams were likely to travel to the island but said from the trip around the island by a local helicopter pilot he was: “Pretty satisfied that every person on that island was not alive at the time.”