Family’s anguish as Australian mother, 47, and her daughter, 20, are both missing after trip to White Island volcano island during Royal Caribbean cruise
- Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20, are missing in volcano disater
- They went on a tour of White Island on Monday and not heard from since
- They left Australia on a cruise to New Zealand and were due back next week
- Five people are dead with fears for another eight who did not make it off island
Panicked relatives are desperately trying to reach a mother and daughter feared dead in the New Zealand volcano disaster.
Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20, went on a tour of White Island on Monday and have not been heard from since.
The pair were on a two-week Royal Caribbean cruise that left last Monday and stopped in New Zealand.
Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20, went on a tour of White Island on Monday and have not been heard from since
Some 47 tourists – from New Zealand and overseas – were on or around the crater, located off the coast of the North Island, at the time of the blast. Pictured: Smoke rises into the air after the explosion on Monday
Five people are confirmed dead with fears for another eight who did not make it off the island before it was too dangerous to continue rescues.
Authorities said there were ‘no signs of life’ when helicopters surveyed the island and everyone still there is presumed dead.
Another 34 people were injured, with 31 still in hospital including several fighting for life with burns to up to 90 per cent of their bodies.
Ms Richards’ sister Barbara Whitehead said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the lack of information, and had nothing from NZ police, Royal Caribbean, or DFAT.
The pair were on a two-week Royal Caribbean cruise that left last Monday and stopped in New Zealand
2.00pm: Eleven minutes before the eruption, some of the tourists on White Island are seen walking on the rim of the crater
She called seven New Zealand hospitals in the hope they were injured and not dead, but only one of them would even confirm they were not patients.
Jessica is a veterinary technology student at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus and she and her mother were due back this weekend.
Forty-seven people from Australia, Britain, the US, Malaysia and China were on White Island 50km off New Zealand’s north island when the volcano erupted.
Tourists desperately scramble on to a boat to evacuate the island after the eruption, shortly after 2pm local time
Thirteen Australians are known to be in hospital and 11 are unaccounted for, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Tuesday morning.
‘I fear there is worse news to come over the course of perhaps today or over the next few days,’ he said.
‘This is a terrible tragedy, a time of great innocence and joy interrupted by the horror of that eruption.’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said police and emergency services are focusing on recovering eight bodies, which would take the death toll to 13.
White Island, 48km from the Bay of Plenty region, began erupting about 2.11pm local time
The first confirmed victim of the volcano disaster on a New Zealand tourist island has been named as tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman (pictured)
Only one of the dead has been named so far – New Zealand tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman. Fellow tour guide Tipene Maangi, 24, is also missing.
His grandmother was desperately waiting for news this morning and said he loved his job at the active volcano which attracts 10,000 tourists a year on guided visits where they have to wear mask and helmets.
Mr Morrison said 24 Australians – aged 17 to 72 – were on the island as part of a tour from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, which departed from Sydney on December 4 on a trip around New Zealand.