Divers start scouring the water surrounding White Island to search for missing Kiwi tour guides

A team of divers has been deployed to search the waters surrounding White Island in the hopes of finding the bodies of the two tour guides who died fleeing the eruption.

Eight specialist soldiers from the New Zealand Defence Force recovered six of the eight victims on Friday morning, risking their lives to recover after Monday’s tragic blast. 

Two bodies are still missing, which are believed to be New Zealanders Hayden Marshall-Inman and Tipene Maangi.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said they had sent a team to search the waters around the island on Friday afternoon. 

One of the bodies was seen floating in the waters during a reconnaissance mission on Tuesday, however, Commissioner Bush said conditions were too severe to attempt to retrieve it. 

‘We do believe that at least one of them is in the water and the other one we are unsure, so that only leaves two possibilities.. they’re on the island .. or they too are in the water,’ he said.

‘We will continue to put every effort into locating the two remaining people.’

The bodies that have been recovered are believed to be Australian citizens; Karla Matthews, 32, and Richard ‘Rick’ Elzer, 32, from Coffs Harbour, Brisbane mother and daughter Julie Richards, 47, and Jessica Richards, 20, Adelaide schoolgirl Zoe Hosking, 15, and Melbourne woman Krystal Browitt, 21. 

There were sighs of relief and applause from anxious family members of victims on Friday morning as police deputy commissioner Wally Haumaha announced that six bodies had been taken to the HMNZS Wellington naval ship by helicopter – although the news was tempered by the fact that not all the bodies had been recovered.

Mourners were seen hugging and crying outside a Maori meeting house near the waterfront in Whakatane as they heard the news six bodies had been found. 

Members of the explosive ordinance disposal squad were involved in the mission and used closed circuit breathing apparatus to protect from any gases during the four-hour recovery mission.

The bodies were flown to the HMNZS Wellington naval ship by helicopter and will be transported to Whakatane Airport where they will be put into coffins and hearses and flown to Auckland. 

Grieving family members watched from shore as the helicopters began their mission at 5.30am on Friday. 

A haka was performed as the helicopters took off at dawn. 

Family members were taken in the commercial boat on the perimeter of the exclusion zone before the mission began.

Another boat, with Maori representatives, performed a blessing at sea in the Bay of Plenty. 

Carrying flowers, balloons and photographs of the victims, family members waited at Whakatāne wharf for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned home.

One group stood in a circle to sing Amazing Grace. 

After returning from the blessing the families made their way to the local marae (meeting house) where long hugs were exchanged.

The trip to White Island involved as few people – believed to be SAS agents – as possible due to the unstable nature of the volcano. 

New Zealand’s geological monitoring agency, GNS Science, upgraded the chance of an eruption in the next 24 hours to between 50 and 60 per cent.  

GNS Science volcanologist Graham Leonard released risk assessment maps showing another eruption was increasingly likely amid Friday’s retrieval.  

‘Whakaari/White Island is an active volcano, and the estimated chance of an eruption is increasing every day,’ Dr Leonard said.

‘Today is less safe than yesterday, and the day before that.’

‘The red zone shows an area that would be considered a no-go for GNS Science staff, and the yellow zone would only be accessible in exceptional circumstances.’

Mr Leonard said the information had been handed to New Zealand police to ensure the safety of their team.

Police released a statement on Friday morning, two hours after the mission began, saying operation to recover the bodies was going to plan but taking longer than authorities first thought.  

‘The operation is taking more time than expected, this is due to the protective equipment the recovery team is wearing which can be restrictive and heavy but is necessary.

‘Conditions for the operation are good in regard to the weather, sea state and the environment on the island.’ 

Ahead of the mission, New Zealand police deputy commissioner Mike Clement admitted he was worried for the safety of the recovery team.

‘Let there be no mistake, it is not a zero-risk game and people are putting themselves on the front line to do the right thing,’ he said.

‘Of course I’m worried, I’d be inhuman if I wasn’t worried.’ 

The bodies were believed to be laying about 300 metres from the crater, within 200 square metres, in small clusters and buried under about one metre of ash. 

Nico Fournier, a GNS volcanologist charged with providing information to the emergency committee, said the level of risk was one part of the conversation, and the acceptability of that risk was another.

‘You wouldn’t jump in a car which is engulfed in flames if nothing was in there. If it’s your child, you will,’ he said.

‘That acceptability of risk is an important conversation.’

GNS also said current monitoring showed the appearance of shallow magma beneath the vent.   

National Emergency Management Agency director Sarah Stuart-Black said the decision had the support of the committee.

‘This is a police decision … this will be their decision and I’ll support them,’ she said.  

The return of the bodies is a white-hot issue in Whakatane, particularly for the families of local tour guides Marshall Inman and Tipene Maangi, whose bodies lie near the crater.

The death toll of Australians killed in the tragedy rose to nine on Thursday morning after Sydney brothers Berend Hollander, 16, and Matthew, 13, were both confirmed dead.

The teenage boys, who both attended the prestigious Knox Grammar school, were travelling with their parents Martin and Barbara – who are both still missing.

Jason Griffiths, 33, from Coffs Harbour, NSW, died from his injuries on Wednesday after being taken to hospital in critical condition. 

He had been travelling with couple Karla Mathews, 32, and Richard Elzer, 32, who were identified as those still on the island and are now dead, friends said. 

Zoe Hosking, 15, and stepfather Gavin Dallow, 53, from Adelaide, were also killed in the disaster, the family’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Mr Dallow’s body was identified by police from the five bodies recovered from the island, but Zoe’s remains are still there and she is presumed dead.

The two were on a tour of White Island on Monday with the girl’s mother Lisa Hosking, 48, when the eruption occurred.

Ms Hosking, a petroleum engineer, is believed to have suffered burns to 60 per cent of her body and is now fighting for her life in hospital.

Her brother David flew in to New Zealand after the disaster and scoured hospitals for the family, eventually finding her.

‘We mourn the loss of Gavin and Zoe. Gavin was a wonderful son and brother,’ a family spokesperson said in a statement.

‘We’ll miss him at the cricket and we’ll miss him at the football. He was a generous man, always helping his family and his community.

‘Our hearts break at the loss of Zoe at such a young age.

‘We know her loss will also devastate her school community and the local Girl Guides, of which she was an active member.

‘The Dallow family is extremely thankful for the support from relatives, Rotary, the local church community and the broader community.

‘We would also like to acknowledge the assistance received from DFAT , emergency services and the very understanding New Zealand Police.’

Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20, from Brisbane, were the first two Australians confirmed dead, earlier on Wednesday. 

Krystal Browitt, 21, was on a tour of White Island with her father Paul and sister Stephanie when it erupted on Monday. 

She remains unaccounted for and her body is believed to be on the island. 

Ms Browitt’s mother Marie bypassed the tour and stayed aboard Ovation of the Seas.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and her dad have been fighting for their lives and were in induced comas in Auckland and Christchurch hospitals.

On Thursday, Mr Browitt was among those victims who were flown back to Australia for further treatment. 

Sydney parents Martin and Barbara Hollander as well as Sydney family Anthony Langford, 51, his wife Kristine and daughter Winona, 17, are also listed as missing.