Whakaari/White Island eruption: Burns tragedy 'unprecedented' as hospital orders skin for grafts

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

Middlemore Hospital is ordering 1.2 million square centimetres of skin from the US for victims burnt by the Whakaari/White Island eruption, to deal with the 'unprecedented' tragedy.

Dr John Kenealy, clinical director of surgery, said 27 patients involved in the eruption were eligible for admission into the Burns Unit, which has centres nationwide.

To be eligible, patients must have burns to more than 30 per cent of their body.

As a result of the eruption, some of the patients had burns to 90 or 95 per cent of their bodies.

Counties Manukau District Health Board's chief medical officer Dr Peter Watson said staff at the hospital had been working 'around the clock, non-stop' to treat patients injured in the explosion.

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The acids involved in a volcanic eruption had made their treatment more complicated than normal burns cases, he said.

'This is just the start of a very long process.'

Australian patients would be repatriated back across the Tasman to receive treatment at Australian burns units. That would be done to relieve the pressure on the burns units here.

Jesse Langford, 19, from Australia has reportedly been found in hospital. His family, including his parents and teenage sister, were still unaccounted for.

The first Australian patient would be flown from Wellington to Australia on Wednesday night.

After Whakaari/White Island erupted on Monday, 30 people were taken to hospitals around the country, many with life-threatening injuries. Many were placed on ventilators, in need of skin grafts. Police confirmed 25 patients were in critical conditions.

Unstable conditions continued to hamper rescue workers from searching for people missing and feared dead after the volcano.

Six people have died since the eruption, including a Kiwi tour guide, a Malaysian national and three Australians, according to Australian media. Eight people were believed to still be on the island.

Earlier, Watson said all of the burn units around the country were 'full to capacity'.

Teen found alive

Australian teenager Jesse Langford, originally feared dead, was found alive in hospital on Wednesday afternoon, according to Australian media. His family - mum, Kristine, dad, Anthony, and 17-year-old sister Winona - were still missing.

It was reported the boy's extended family were travelling to New Zealand to find out what hospital he was in and his condition.

'It's important not to underestimate the gravity of the injuries suffered, the huge response being mounted by our hospitals and the time it will take for some patients to fully recover,' Watson said.

This Dec. 9, 2019, photo provided by Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, shows the eruption of the volcano on White Island.

While hospitals were working to aid those injured, family members continued to search for loved ones who may have been affected by the eruption.

Among the missing was a 5-year-old boy, two Australian families, and Kiwi tour guide Tipene Maangi. There were over 100 names registered on the Red Cross Family Links website on Wednesday.

Crowd funding campaigns had been created for those injured and recovering in hospital, including tour guide Jake Milbank, Australian tourist Jason Griffith, and American newlyweds Matt and Lauren Urey.

Recovery efforts

Police and council staff arrive at Whakatāne airport on Wednesday morning as they prepare for recovery mode following the Whakaari/White Island eruption.

Plans were now being made to recover the bodies of those still on the island.

Mark Law, a pilot who assisted with the initial rescue efforts said he knew exactly where they were, but his enthusiasm to work hastily was being halted by red tape and the threat of another eruption.

On Wednesday afternoon, National Emergency Management Agency civil defence director Sarah Stuart Black said it was hoped bodies could be recovered on Wednesday morning, but it was not possible due to the conditions on the island.

'This is an utterly tragic situation … every day that passes with those bodies unrecovered is a day of anguish for loved ones,' she said.

'I completely understand how important it is for them … that we undertake the recovery process as quickly as we can.

'However the preservation of human life and prevention of further harm must be taken into account.'

The Ovation of the Seas leaves Tauranga Harbour after its passengers were caught up in the deadly eruption on Whakaari/White Island.

The risk of another eruption like Monday's was just too high.

'This tragedy has already claimed multiple lives.'

On Wednesday afternoon, GNS senior scientist Graham Leonard said there had been further escalation of volcanic activity on Whakaari/White Island.

Volcanic tremors had increased since Wednesday morning, an indication that volcanic gas pressures were still high.

There was a 40 to 60 per cent chance of an eruption, and tremors on the island were escalating, Leonard said.

Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said recovery was their number one priority.

'We are confident, on our ability to deliver the rescue operation. But that is after we are sure that we can manage the real dangers that are on the island.

'As part of the recovery, we have disaster victim identification specialists ready to be deployed at Whakatāne,' he said.

An Australian Defence Force aircraft was on its way to pick up injured Australians, he said.

'We absolutely understand the stress this is causing, the grief [the families] are in … All I can say is, we're absolutely committed and we will deliver on the promise to return to the island,' he said.

Specialists were working with their overseas counterparts to gather evidence required for the unknown and unnamed people - such as any identifying features described by victims' families, DNA evidence from hair brushes or fingerprints from their homes.

Evidence had already been gathered from the rooms of those who were aboard the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship. Of the 47 people on the island at the time of the eruption, 38 were passengers on the cruise liner.

The ship departed Tauranga on Wednesday morning, two days after the eruption. Crowds gathered to farewell passengers on board, all of which had been offered counselling.

The ship's itinerary had been altered since the incident, travelling to Picton, rather than cruising to Dunedin and Fiordland, as was originally planned, according to a Royal Carribean statement released late on Tuesday night.

Autopsies for the six deceased were due to begin on Wednesday, the coroner said. Once bodies had been recovered from the island they would be flown to Auckland.