Man wants prime ministerial 'pardon' to recover brother's body from White Island

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

A man has asked the prime minister for permission to personally recover the body of his brother who was killed on Whakaari/White Island.

Mark Inman met Jacinda Ardern after his brother Hayden Marshall-Inman, a tour guide from Whakatāne, died in Monday's eruption.

On Wednesday he emailed Ardern's office saying he would like her to pardon his actions if he staged a personal recovery.

'With the current conditions of sunshine baking and decomposing his body, he's going from a situation where we could have an open casket to now more likely not having a body at all – due to your government's red tape and slow decision making,' Inman said in the email.

**READ MORE:

* Anatomy of a deadly eruption and the quest to save survivors

* Whakaari: Bedlam at Whakatāne Hospital as worker describes eruption aftermath

* Whakaari/White Island eruption: Two more Australian victims named**

Staff from Ardern's office replied saying they had passed his message to Police Minister Stuart Nash's office, which would be in touch with him.

The bodies of eight of the 14 people killed in the eruption remain on the island.

Inman told television programme The Project helicopter pilots on the island after the eruption had seen his brother's body and moved it onto a rise beside a stream.

'We all know health and safety is important, but when health and safety starts to become a barrier to retrieval, that's when you get frustrated,' Inman said.

Hayden Marshall-Inman's mate, helicopter pilot Tom Storey, said on The Project he dropped his tools and rushed to help after hearing the volcano was 'pretty active'.

He arrived on the island and recognised Marshall-Inman, who was 'in a pretty bad way'.

'I just pulled him out from where he was and made him as comfortable as I could,' Storey said.

He wanted to go back, but was instructed not to. 

'It's pretty hard to take, you want a bit of closure for your families and yourself.'