Whakaari/White Island: Recovery mission in 'hands of the sea' say police
Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Police working to recover two bodies are 'literally in the hands of the seas', say the police as recovery operations scale back.
Police Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement spoke to media at the Whakatāne District Council on Wednesday afternoon where he described how much it hurt his staff that they hadn't been able to return two people, still missing after last Monday's eruption, to their families.
'It hurts us and it hurts our people,' he said.
The eruption last Monday, December 9, has so far left 16 people dead, with a further two remaining missing.
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Clement said police divers at one stage were 'within metres' of recovering Marshall-Inman's body when it was believed to have been sighted in the water near Whakaari's jetty on December 11.
'The reality was the conditions of the ocean meant they could not get close,' Clement said.
'The people on that day have thought long and hard about that. It's what they come here to do. They're disappointed. They backed themselves to retrieve a body and they missed out.'
Two days later, on December 13, they managed to recover six bodies from the island.
Helicopter pilots who initially returned to the island to rescue people just after the eruption had told police Marshall-Inman's body was near a stream.
However, when Defence Force search team went back on the island on Friday they could not locate him despite walking up and down the stream three times.
They also couldn't locate Langford, who hadn't been sighted since the day of the eruption, so it was concluded they had been washed out to sea by a weather event on the night of the eruption.
Clement said he spent an hour with the families impacted on Wednesday and stepped them through the rationale for the belief that both bodies were now at sea.
'They have accepted that view.'
While the search had been difficult, 'we haven't given up'.
'We are here and will keep coming back until we are satisfied the opportunities [for recovery of the bodies] are gone.
'But we are literally in the hands of the sea…the reality is we cannot be precise.
'I think the family understands as time passes it means less chance but not, no chance.'
Senior Constable Bruce Adams, from the police dive squad, said conditions made diving difficult around the island with divers working with nearly no visibility and needing heavy protection from the acidic waters.
'The acidity of the water means special equipment is needed to ensure the safety of the divers,' he said.
'We need to minimise contact with the water using full-face masks with positive pressure systems.'
They are using hand sonar equipment to search sediment around the base of the island. Divers also have to check through debris to ensure a body was not caught up in rocks.
Poor weather and ash confounded the search on Tuesday, with heavy rain forcing the Eagle helicopter to turn back from the area early in the morning and preventing police from landing on Whakaari. Adams said the dive squad is eager to get back out there and used the time to 'recharge their batteries'.
Aerial flyovers of at least five nautical miles are being conducted by the Defence Force while the police Eagle Helicopter searches the coastlines.
It is possible the two bodies could be swept into the Pacific Island and not reach land.
Clement said the national assets can be recalled to the area if required.