Whakaari/White Island eruption death toll rises to 21
Wednesday, 29 January 2020
A victim of the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption receiving treatment in Auckland has died, bringing the death toll to 21.
Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims confirmed the person died in Middlemore Hospital on Tuesday night.
The official death toll of the eruption now stands at 21, two of whom died in Australia.
Police were yet to release the name of the latest victim.
**READ MORE:
* Final two missing after Whakaari/White Island eruption confirmed dead by coroner
* Whakaari/White Island: Police officially name two still missing following the eruption
* Whakaari/White Island: Tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman was heading back to help people when he died**
On Thursday, two people yet to be recovered from the island were confirmed dead by the Chief Coroner.
They were Australian teenager Winona Langford, 17, and White Island Tours guide Hayden Marhsall-Inman, 40.
Hayden was a lifeguard, devoted uncle, godfather, youth camp counsellor, donor to charities and an avid fan of paying it forward, those who gathered to remember him heard.
Langford was on the island with her parents Anthony and Kristine, who were killed in the eruption, and brother Jesse, 19, who was hospitalised after the eruption.
Toxic gases and small eruptions in the days following the December 9 eruption hindered rescue efforts of eight people who died on the island, including Inman and Langford.
Whakaari/White Island volcano, which had been active for at least 150,000 years, erupted while 47 people, including tourists and tour guides, were still on the island.
The volcano, which measures around 2 kilometres in diameter and is mostly occupied by the Main Crater, peaks at 321 metres with the crater floor sitting less than 30m above sea level, according to GNS Science.