'We can't underplay the risks': Inside the dangerous mission to bring home White Island volcano victims
Members of the unit tended to be level-headed, he said, having volunteered to work with explosives and being highly specialised.
Given the grim task at hand, Colonel McKenzie said all team members involved in retrieving the bodies would be fully debriefed and given medical support if needed. "For those members of the New Zealand Defence Force, they serve with a sense of duty and a sense of pride in being able to help our fellow New Zealanders and the citizens of the world," he said."It should not be forgotten that when [soldiers] join the New Zealand Defence Force, they do so knowing that they could be required to be placed in harm's way when New Zealand requires it.
Aside from the New Zealand Defence Force, support for the mission came from the New Zealand Police, emergency services, and mortuary and forensic services, while guidance was given by local Indigenous groups.The bodies found on White Island this morning have been taken to Auckland for identification.
, though both are presumed dead. One body was spotted in the water earlier this week, and divers are searching at this location.
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