First New Zealand volcano victim named

▪ Police in New Zealand have officially named the first victim of the White Island volcano eruption, as recovery efforts continue

Krystal Browitt, an Australian veterinary student from Melbourne who had just turned 21, was sightseeing with sister and father on the volcano island of Whakaari when toxic ash clouds spewed rocks high into the air.

Her mother stayed on the cruise ship, safe from the hot blanket of fumes and stones that rained down on the group of tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of a smoking crater.

Ms Browitt’s body was finally recovered from the island in a daring mission by elite military bomb squads on Friday. She was formally identified yesterday morning as among the 15 to have died so far.

The closure is little comfort for her mother Marie who was last night keeping a bedside vigil for her surviving daughter, Stephanie, 23, and husband Paul, who are among the critically injured in hospital.

Fourteen people remain in hospital in New Zealand, 10 of whom are in critical condition with horrific burns. Thirteen others have been transported to Australia for treatment. One person succumbed to their injuries yesterday.

Some patients have burns to up to 95pc of their bodies. Surgeons ordered 1.2 million sq cm of donor skin from the US earlier in the week in a desperate attempt to keep victims alive. Survivors were found with third-degree burns, and many suffered burnt lungs from inhaling the superheated gas.

Two people are missing, assumed dead, on the island itself. A team from the Police National Dive Squad resumed their search at 7am yesterday for a body seen in the water.