A daring mission has begun to retrieve the bodies of tourists killed on New Zealand’s White Island when it erupted on Monday.
Families of the victims gathered at the waterfront in Whakatane, on the Bay of Plenty, before dawn on Friday in anticipation of the recovery operation.
"The family representatives are returning to the mainland and the operation to recover the eight bodies on the island has commenced," he said.Along the waterfront, members of the Whakatane Maori tribe Ngāti Awa have been singing and offering traditional prayer in support of the recovery team. About 50 people have been assembled since sunrise.
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