Whakaari/White Island: divers battle contaminated water, low visibility

Saturday, 14 December 2019

Divers from the Police National Dive Squad have come across dead fish and eels washed ashore and in the water.

Divers searching for a body off Whakaari/White Island are in contaminated water with zero to two metres visibility.

They have to be washed off with fresh water each time they surface, Police national operations commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims said.

Nine members of the Police National Dive Squad re-started their search for a body, previously seen in the water, at 7am on Saturday.

'Divers have reported seeing a number of dead fish and eels washed ashore and floating in the water,' Tims said.

Police commissioner Mike Bush confirms that the search for two bodies continues, and six have been recovered.

* Whakaari/White Island: Search for bodies continues, questions around island's future

There's medium likelihood of another White Island eruption with impacts outside the marked vent area in the next 24 hours, GNS Science said.

* Whakaari/White Island: NZDF shows 'absolute courage' in an unpredictable environment**

'Conditions in the water today are not optimal, with between zero and two metres visibility depending on location.'

The Navy dive team is sending personnel to boost the dive effort.

A further body is still to be located and could be in the water or on land, police representatives have said.

Safety cordons along the Whakatāne waterfront became a point for tributes, but have now been removed (file photo).

Eruption likelihood

Scientists have said the likelihood of Whakaari/White Island erupting in the next 24 hours is 35 to 50 per cent.

The risk has decreased since Friday, when a bomb squad conducted a four-hour mission to bring back six bodies from the island off the coast of Whakatāne.

Those on the recovery mission went 'beyond what I would consider normal limits of endurance,' NZDF Colonel Rian McKinstry said.

GNS scientists say their calculation refers to the likelihood of an eruption with effects outside the volcano's vent area in the 24 hours from noon Saturday.

Police had earlier said no-one would go back onto the island on Saturday.

Minute's silence

Two bodies are still to be recovered. One has previously been sighted in the water and the second is either on the island or in the water.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that a minute's silence for the victims of the eruption will be observed at 2.11pm on Monday.

'This is a moment we can stand alongside those who have lost loved ones in this extraordinary tragedy,' she said.

A security cordon on the Whakatāne waterfront - the site of many tributes to those injured or killed - has been lifted, RNZ reported.

Volcano risk signs

This GNS graph shows volcanic tremor and alert levels at Whakaari/White Island during and around the December 9 eruption.

Earlier on Saturday, GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said White Island's tremors 'declined significantly overnight'.

Haze and fumes made it hard to measure the temperature around the vent area but an overnight camera recorded a glow, 'confirming high heat flow'.

'Some monitoring equipment is partially buried under ash and may stop functioning over the weekend as batteries run out. However, we are still receiving data from the remaining equipment which allows us to monitor the volcano.'

The bomb squad members who undertook Friday's recovery mission showed absolute courage in an 'unpredictable, challenging environment', Police commissioner Mike Bush said.

Bringing back the bodies

On Friday, the recovery mission started with a bomb squad leaving at first light on a clear, still morning.

They went 'beyond what I would consider normal limits of endurance,' NZDF Colonel Rian McKinstry said.

Working in pairs, they waded through knee-deep ash to move bodies to a central location, from which a helicopter could take them to the HMNZS Wellington.

The bodies were then flown to Auckland for identification.

Identification

'The victims and their families are our priority but we also have important obligations,' Tims said.

'It would be unforgivable to get the identification process wrong.'

The process will involve police disaster victim identification (DVI) experts, forensic pathologists, ESR scientists, odontologists - who can use dental information to help with identification - and the Coroner's office.

Taking care of the survivors

Meanwhile, 15 of the survivors of Monday's eruption are still being treated in burns units around New Zealand.

Eleven of thom are in a 'very critical condition with extensive, severe burns', Counties-Manukau Health chief medical officer Dr Peter Watson said on Friday.

All 13 injured Australians have been transferred back to hospitals closer to home.

Among them are Nick and Marion London, who are still on life support, their son Matt told the Sydney Morning Herald.

They have burns to more than half of their bodies and internal chemical burns from breathing in toxic gases, he said.

'It's a lot of surgery and it's going to be a tough time on both them and the family as a whole.'