Six people are dead, 30 are injured and eight are missing after the New Zealand volcano eruption

Six people have been confirmed dead after Monday’s fatal eruption on White Island/Whakaari in New Zealand and eight are confirmed as missing.

There were 47 people on the island at the time of the eruption, 38 of them from the cruise liner Ovation of the Seas.

Thirty patients remain in burns units across New Zealand, 22 of whom still need airway support.

New Zealand police said there were 47 people on the island when the volcano erupted. They comprised of 24 people from Australia, nine from US, two Britons, four from Germany, five from New Zealand, two from China and one from Malaysia. The New Zealand Red Cross has issued a list of people who have registered themselves as alive, and those who have been missing since the eruption. You can see the full list here although some people listed as missing have now been found alive in hospitals in New Zealand.

White Island volcano: death toll to rise as police open criminal inquiry Read more

Deceased

Julie and Jessica Richards, a mother and daughter aged 47 and 20 respectively from Brisbane, were confirmed as deceased on Wednesday by a family friend. John Mickel said the family wished the mother and daughter to be remembered as “outdoor and adventurous people”. “They really loved the cruise atmosphere but more particularly they loved the adventurism that went with all the outdoor sports.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Brisbane’s Julie Richards, 47, and Jessica Richards, 20 Photograph: Facebook

Authorities were said to have contacted their family on Wednesday morning.

Julie and Jessica, a student vet, had been on board the Ovation of the Seas and had booked on a tour of the island. They had been due to return home next weekend.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gavin Dallow, 52 and his step-daughter Zoe Hosking, 15, from Adelaide were also confirmed as victims. Zoe is presumed dead because her body is believed to be still on the island. Gavin’s wife and Zoe’s mother, Lisa Dallow, 48, was found alive, and is in a critical condition in a New Zealand hospital.

A statement from the Dallow family said Gavin was “a wonderful son and brother” and a “generous man”. “I was lucky enough to spend the test match with him, only two days prior to the trip,” said Gavin’s father on Wednesday. “That is something I will hold in my memory for a long time.”

“Our hearts break at the loss of Zoe at such a young age,” the family continued. “We know her loss will also devastate her school community and the local Girl Guides.”

Zoe’s school, St Aloysius College, said the whole staff had gathered in the school chapel to console one another.

The Adelaide Advertiser reported that the family was scheduled to return to Australia on 16 December.

New Zealand tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman, who worked for White Island Tours , was confirmed by his family as a victim on Tuesday. He was described as a “very experienced guide” who “loved life” by former Whakatāne mayor Tony Bonne.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Experienced New Zealand tour guide, Hayden Marshall-Inman died during the White Island explosion Photograph: Facebook

His brother, Mark Inman, told The Project New Zealand: “He was a guy that would do anything for anyone. I read a post from someone on Facebook yesterday or last night, saying he leaves $5 in the local dairy for whoever can’t afford something, every week he goes in.”

New Zealand police also confirmed the deaths of Richard Elzer and Karla Matthews, 32, a couple from Coffs Harbour in Australia, Krystal Browitt from Australia, and New Zealander Tipene Maangi.

The missing

Anthony and Kristine Langford and their teenage children, Jesse, 19 and Winona 17, from Sydney, are listed as missing. Jesse graduated from Marist North Shore in 2018. The school’s principal, Tony Duncan, emailed parents letting them know that the former student was listed as missing. “It is with a heavy heart that I can confirm to you that several members of our Marist North Shore family are missing in the aftermath of the White Island volcano disaster.” “Jesse, who graduated last year was a talented and popular student during his time at the school, finishing up as Mackillop house captain,” he said. He asked for school families to have the Langfords in their prayers.

Andrew Denney (@Andrew_Denney) I have spoken with relatives of the Langford family missing after the #NZVolcano at White Island. They’re hopeful Anthony, Kristine, Jesse & Winona will br found at hospital or sheltering on the island. They’re asking for anyone who recognises them to speak up. @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/zHpbWR2v8P

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flowers line the fence entrance to Port of Tauranga for victims of the White Island eruption Photograph: Getty Images

Angelika and Horst Westenfelder, both aged 63, from Karlsruhe in Germany were listed as missing.

Injured

An American couple on honeymoon in New Zealand were badly burned in Monday’s volcanic eruptions. Barbara Barham told the Washington Post on Monday that her daughter Lauren Urey, 32, and husband Matthew Urey, 36, had plans to visit a live volcano and weren’t concerned about possible eruptions.

“She said they were going to the volcano,” Lauren’s mother, Barbara Barham, told The Washington Post. “My husband was joking around and said, ‘I hope it’s not a live volcano.’ ”

She said Lauren and Matthew, 36, “weren’t concerned that there was any chance of an eruption,” Barham said.

Barham said she got a call sometime later from Royal Caribbean asking if she’d heard from her daughter. Then Matthew Urey’s mother called and relayed a distressing voicemail from her son. Matthew Urey’s message said “there had been a volcano eruption and they were burned very bad,” Barham said, adding: “His hands were so badly burned it was hard for him to make a phone call.”

The couple were taken to hospital.

Jason Griffiths, a 33-year-old from Coffs Harbour, was initially listed as missing but his family told Nine that he had survived but was in hospital with severe burns. Another Coffs man, 33-year-old Paul Murtha, was named as a survivor on the Red Cross list.

Lisa Dallow, 48, remains in hospital. Her husband, Gavin, and daughter Zoe Hosking, are among the deceased.