New Zealand volcano eruption: 6 bodies recovered from the site

Six out of eight bodies were recovered by New Zealand military personnel from the site of the recent volcanic eruption. Bodies of eight people were missing after a volcano erupted at New Zealand's White Island on December 9. The eight people missing were presumed dead by the authorities but they were unable to recover the bodies because of continuous tremors felt on the island after the eruption. 

White Island recovery

The high-risk operation that was conducted to recover dead bodies from the island was watched by families of the victims as they were waiting on the mainland to receive them. Eight people military team was sent to recover the bodies from the island, however, the team could only recover six bodies before their cumbersome protective equipment slowed down the operation. 

Read: New Zealand Volcano Eruption: Tremors Hamper Recovery Of Bodies

The recovery team had good knowledge of the location of those six bodies while the location of the other two bodies was still unknown. There was a 50-60 per cent chance of another eruption at the time of the operation and the team had a very small window to recover the bodies. The official death toll stands at eight while 24 others are still recovering from injuries. 

Read: New Zealand Volcano Eruption: Death Toll Rises To 8, Several Missing

The volcano is New Zealand's most active volcano till date and more than half of it is underwater. The last time the volcano erupted was in 2016 and the last major eruption took place in 2000. More than 10,000 people visit the tourist place every year and at the time of eruption over 47 people were on the island. The majority of the people visiting the island on the day of the eruption were Australians, while the US, British, Malaysian, Chinese and German citizens made up the other half. 

Read: New Zealand Planning Retrieval Of Bodies On Volcanic Island

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the operation said that the recovery of the bodies has been their top priority but it was an incredibly difficult process. After the recovery process came to a halt on Wednesday, Ardern said that the officials are eager to resume the work but they can't risk more lives as it was still very dangerous to visit the site. 

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