The number of people who died in the New Zealand volcano disaster has risen to eight, with seven of them being Australians.
A further 30 people are currently in different hospitals across New Zealand being treated for injuries.
Among the Australians confirmed dead are Brisbane woman Julie Richards, 47, her daughter Jessica Richards, 20, Adelaide man Gavin Dallow and Jason Griffiths from Coffs Harbour.
Adding to that, Knox Grammar School in North Sydney released a heartbreaking statement confirming the death of their two students – Matthew Hollander (year 8) and Berend Hollander (year 10) – who passed away due to the injuries they faced during the incident. The school revealed that the boys’ parents are still unaccounted for.
The identity of one Australian victim, and the eighth person, is not yet known.
It has now been confirmed that 47 people were on or close to White Island when the volcano erupted.
Nine of those were a group of inseparable friends Australia who took a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand, not knowing that only six would make it back alive.
The group boarded Ovation of the Seas in Sydney last week and spent five days together at sea as they travelled to the Bay of Islands and Auckland before docking in Tauranga on Monday.
Three of them, young couple Karla Mathews and Richard Elzer – as well as Jason Griffiths – jumped at the chance to explore New Zealand’s most active volcano.
The others, Alex, Daniel, Ellie, Leanne, Paul and Samantha, stayed on board to admire the island from afar.
But it wasn’t long before the volcano erupted, killed Ms Mathews and Mr Elzer, both 32, first. Their bodies still remain on White Island.
Mr Griffiths, 33, was rescued from the island but due to suffering burns to 80 per cent of his body, he died shortly after arriving to hospital.
The remaining six travel companions heard the tragic news after being left in the dark for a while.
“We discovered that two of our friends, Richard Elzer and Karla Mathews, were still on the island,” said the six friends in a joint statement.
“We have been advised that there are no signs of life on the island. We then located our third friend, Jason Griffiths, in a hospital in the early house of [Thursday] morning.”
Mr Griffiths’ death was confirmed on Wednesday night. “From that moment until the moment of his passing, Jason was surrounded by friends and family members,” the friends said.
“We are incredibly saddened to have lost three of our closest friends.”
