White Island volcanic eruption: Helicopter pilot Mark Law wants to return to island to save victims

Pictured: Commercial pilot Mark Law, who wants to return to White Island to save victims

A helicopter pilot who was one of the first responders to New Zealand’s White Island after a volcanic eruption wants to return to retrieve the bodies of the dead.

Frontier Air’s Mark Law claims he has been ‘blocked by the bureaucracy’ even though he believes it would be safe for him to go back.

Six people are dead, 30 still in hospital and another eight are missing and feared dead after the volcano erupted on Monday, spewing ash, smoke and debris high into the air.

Mr Law said his team landed in the centre of the crater where they found people ‘dead, dying and alive but in various states of unconsciousness.’ 

The air, he said, was like talcum powder after the explosion. 

He said he didn’t see an issue in returning to rescue the bodies of the people still on the island, despite authorities warning ‘volcanic gas pressure remains high.’

On Wednesday, GeoNet said ‘volcanic tremor has significantly increased overnight indicating that volcanic gas pressures remain high’.

But Mr Law said he had mapped out exactly where the victims are, and believed he could be in and out within 90 minutes, The Daily Telegraph reported. 

‘It’s a bureaucracy,’ he told the UK Guardian. ‘I would get the bodies now if I was allowed.’ 

Mr Law said getting out of his helicopter and walking through the crater after the eruption was like 'walking through talcum powder' as ash settled over everything, including this helicopter

Mr Law said getting out of his helicopter and walking through the crater after the eruption was like ‘walking through talcum powder’ as ash settled over everything, including this helicopter

Two first responders were pictured on the island after the explosion which has killed six people so far

Two first responders were pictured on the island after the explosion which has killed six people so far

‘A lot of the people could not talk. It was pretty quiet. The only real words were things like, ”help”,’ he said.

‘They were covered in ash and dust. We were picking them up and skin was coming off in our hands.’ 

He said the rescue mission would just be a matter of ‘landing right there and loading them in.’  

‘We handled all the bodies that we brought out alive and the deceased, I don’t see why there’s a major issue.’

Acting Assistant Commissioner Bruce Bird told a press conference the process of returning to the island ‘is stringent and can take some time.’ 

Pictured: The volcanic eruption which spewed steam and ash across White Island on Monday

Pictured: The volcanic eruption which spewed steam and ash across White Island on Monday

Zoe Dallow (pictured) is still missing. She is just 15

Gavin Dallow, from Adelaide, is still unaccounted for

Lisa Dallow and her husband Gavin (right) 53, and 15-year-old daughter Zoe, from Adelaide, (left) were on a walking tour of the active volcano when it erupted. The mother is in critical condition while Gavin and Zoe remain unaccounted for as of Tuesday night

A layer of ash settled on the entire island after the explosion (pictured)

A layer of ash settled on the entire island after the explosion (pictured)

He said police are working with the families of the deceased before they release their identities to the public and that they will return to the island as soon as it is safe to do so.

He said they need to ensure the island is safe for authorities, and are monitoring weather conditions which are predicted to worsen.

A statement from police read: ‘Those deploying to the island will likely encounter serious physical and chemical hazards, for which we must be prepared.’

Acting Assistant Commissioner Bird said he is confident nobody who remains on the island survived the blast. 

Tourists were pictured waiting to leave the island following the volcanic eruption

Tourists were pictured waiting to leave the island following the volcanic eruption

‘Following the incident, a local helicopter pilot went out and spent considerable time at the island… we’re pretty satisfied that everyone on that island was not alive at the time.’ 

Of the 30 people who are still in hospital, 25 remain in a critical condition. Medics are struggling to identify some victims due to the severity of their burns.

Police Minister Stuart Nash told RNZ: ‘As you can imagine there are a number in hospital who cannot communicate because they have had significant burns not only to skin but to internal organs.’

‘They cannot speak in any way, shape or form.’

Pete Watson, New Zealand’s chief medic, said it likely that ‘not all’ of the wounded will survive. 

AUSTRALIAN TOLL SO FAR

  • 24 Australians were on a tour of White Island, also known as Whakaari, when an active volcano erupted on Monday, spewing smoke, ash and debris thousands of metres into the air.  
  • The Australians were on a day trip from the Royal Caribbean cruise liner Ovation of the Seas. 
  • They are aged between 17 and 72 years.
  • At least three of those people are now believed to be dead.
  • These deaths are still to be confirmed.
  • The assumed deaths are part of a total of 11 Australians who are still unaccounted for, according to the government.
  • Many more have been reported as missing be desperate families.  
  • The remaining 13 Australians who were injured have been taken to multiple hospitals around the town of Whakatane on New Zealand’s North Island.
Couple Karla Mathews, 32, and Richard Elzer, 32, from Coffs Harbour, NSW, remain missing

Couple Karla Mathews, 32, and Richard Elzer, 32, from Coffs Harbour, NSW, remain missing

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