Troops to retrieve New Zealand volcano victims

TROOPS launched a perilous mission last night to recover bodies from a volcanic island that is threatening to erupt again.

Two military helicopters set off at first light for White Island from Whakatane on New Zealand’s east coast.

At the same time, police took grieving families out near the island on a boat, and a Maori blessing was performed.

The troops, who have been warned of the time pressure in the high-risk rescue, will wear protective clothing and oxygen masks to the volcano.

Deputy police commissioner Mike Clement said ‘a lot has to go right’ for the plan to work, and added that opportunities to ‘bail out’ had been included in the recovery plan.

The mission came as scientist Graham Leonard warned there was a 50 to 60 per cent chance of another eruption today, while other experts said the volcano, which is mainly underwater, looked even more dangerous than in the previous three days.

Officer Clement said officials know where six of the victims are on the island and the priority was to get them off first. The New Zealand Herald reported that a seventh body had been seen in the water, while the eighth was unaccounted for.

There are concerns that the victims’ bodies could become entombed should rain fall on the ash covering them, creating a cement-like mix.

The official death toll from Monday’s eruption stands at eight – with a further eight missing, presumed dead.

Australian brothers Berend Hollander, 16, and his brother Matthew, 13, were named as the latest victims yesterday. Their parents are also missing. Several victims remain in critical conditions at hospitals around the country – including two British women.