Deborah and Karl Rakos from Darlington had not been in touch with family since Sunday

A British couple reported missing after a volcano erupted on an island in New Zealand have made contact with concerned relatives.

Karl Rakos, 57, and Deborah Rakos, 50, from Darlington, County Durham, were on a cruise of New Zealand and Australia and had been listed missing on an unofficial Red Cross website.

Karl’s mother, 77-year-old Jean Rakos, said family members had been concerned that they had not heard from the couple since news of the disaster broke. But on Tuesday evening she confirmed the couple had made contact and were on a cruise ship heading for Australia.

Speaking from her home in Ferryhill, County Durham, she said: “He’s on the ship. He’s on his way to Australia. He will be there tomorrow.”

The UK high commissioner in New Zealand has confirmed there are two British women among the wounded in hospital, but has not identified them.

Police said 47 people were on the uninhabited island at the time of the eruption – 24 from Australia, nine from the US, five from New Zealand, four from Germany, two each from China and the UK, and one from Malaysia. Six people are known to have died and a further eight are feared to have perished.

Play Video 1:41 'The scale is devastating': families and Ardern react after New Zealand volcano erupts – video

Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, said reconnaissance flights showed no signs of life on the island, as witnesses detailed the horrific burns suffered by those caught up in Monday’s eruption.

The confirmed death toll rose to six on Tuesday evening after one of the 31 people being treated for burns died. Twenty-seven of those taken to hospital had sustained greater than 30% body surface burns, said Dr Pete Watson from the Ministry of Health, and more deaths among the injured were expected.

Police said they had boats stationed 1,000 metres off the coast of White Island, but had been unable to send drones to test gas levels and do reconnaissance missions because of persistent strong winds. Helicopter pilots said they were willing to fly over on body-retrieval missions, but were being hamstrung by red tape and an overly cautious emergency response plan.

Every year, about 10,000 tourists take boat trips and helicopter tours to view the dramatic landscape of White Island, or Whakaari. Some have questioned whether the privately owned island, which is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, should have been operating as a tourist destination.

The island previously experienced a short eruption in 2016, in which no one was hurt.

Meanwhile, Matthew Evans, 38, who is originally from Carmarthen in Wales and was one of the Britons listed as missing on a Red Cross website, has been found safe and well.

His brother Ian Evans said: “He was travelling with his new wife, he was trekking at the time and we were concerned because we hadn’t heard from him for 24 hours.

“But they are safe. They were in the North Island, away from the Bay of Plenty. They said they had no idea what had gone on.”