Krystal Browitt, the 21-year-old Melbourne woman missing since the White Island volcano eruption, has become the first victim to be identified by police from the six people whose bodies were recovered from the island on Friday.
Browitt was on the island with her sister Stephanie and her father Paul when the volcano erupted. Stephanie is in a coma in hospital with her mother, Marie, who stayed on board their cruise ship instead of taking the volcano trip, at her bedside. Paul Browitt is being treated for burns in hospital in Melbourne.
The announcement on Saturday came as police and navy divers returned to the waters around the island where authorities are increasingly convinced a seventh and eighth body could be found following Monday’s volcanic eruption.
But there was no resumption of the ground search on Saturday as authorities consider the next steps in their retrieval operation.
There were 47 people on the island, also known as Whakaari, during the blast.
Eight were killed close to the crater and the retrieval of those bodies has been the focus of a joint police-defence mission.
The high-stakes recovery operation from the ash-covered surface flew out six bodies on Friday, much to the relief of families.
Police have vowed to continue their search until all eight bodies have been recovered.
“The assurance that we give to family and whanau [extended community] is that we will continue to put every effort into locating the remaining two missing,” police commissioner Mike Bush said.
A debrief following Friday’s operation has prompted a focus on nearby waters.
Deputy commissioner Mike Clement said there were nine divers in the water since 7am, working to a buddy system.
“We learned some stuff yesterday as a result of being on the island,” he said. “The purpose of the planning day today is to work through the scenarios with that eighth person, where they could be.
“We’ve got enough evidence to justify deploying that dive squad and the navy dive squad this afternoon.”
The recovery operation is now focused on a ravine that carries water off the island.
“We know that we’ve got two bodies missing,” Clement said. “And we haven’t quite got the detail yet but it’s possible that there’s been quite heavy rain since Monday afternoon.
“The evidence suggests they’re in that ravine, but they’re not there and they haven’t been there since we started our [surveillance] overflights.”
The seventh body was sighted in the water in the aftermath of the blast but was unreachable due to swells.
Clement said police weren’t ready to rule out the eighth body being on land, adding he “would leave either scenario open”.
“But if it’s on land, it’s not visible on the surface. So we’ve got to work through the possibilities with regard to where it might be.”
The six recovered bodies were flown to Auckland hospital, where chief coroner Judge Deborah Marshall began the identification process.
Deputy commissioner John Tims, the Wellington-based operations commander, warned anxious families and loved ones that the “process is stringent and can take some time”.
“This is a long and complex process and we are working as quickly as possible to return loved ones to their families,” he said.
The eight families, all together as one, spent time with the six bodies – which were in coffins – at Whakatane airport on Friday night before they were taken to Auckland.
Some 47 people, including 24 Australian citizens and four permanent residents, were on the island when the volcano erupted on Monday.
Nine Australians have been confirmed dead, one more is presumed to have died and 13 are in hospital with severe burns. Authorities expect the final death toll to reach 16.
A minute’s silence will be observed at 2.11pm on Monday 16 December – exactly one week after the eruption – in honour of the victims, New Zealand’s prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said on Saturday,
