WHAKATANE, New Zealand (AP) — A second sunday ground search on New Zealand’s volcanic White Island failed in its attempt to locate the bodies of the last two victims of an eruption that claimed the lives of at least 15 people, mostly tourists. Two teams of four arrived on the island by helicopter on Sunday morning and combed an area where one of the bodies is believed to be. The groups wore special costumes and breathing equipment that allowed them to search for just 75 minutes.
The groups could not find any of the bodies and returned to New Zealand’s mainland, where they went through a decontamination process after being exposed to ash and toxic gases.” We have always hoped to recover all the bodies on the island and remain deeply committed to that goal to allow families to have a kind of closure,” said police deputy commissioner John Tims.On Sunday afternoon, the police divers team he was scheduled to resume the search in the waters surrounding the island despite having no visibility, a situation that affected his work on Saturday. Rescue teams had reported seeing a body at sea a day after Monday’s eruption. The official death toll from the December 9 eruption remains at 15 people because police have not included the two missing among the dead until their bodies are recovered. Meanwhile, police released the names of five victims who have been formally identified. These are four Australians and a New Zealander. Among the deceased are Zoe Hosking, a 15-year-old Australian, and stepfather Gavin Dallow, 53. The first identified victim was Krystal Browitt, a veterinary nurse from Melbourne, Australia, who on 29 November turned 21.
