Three Australians are believed to have died and another 11 remain missing after New Zealand's Whakaari volcano erupted on Monday
Ms Ardern praised the actions of helicopter pilots who were in the area at the time of the eruption.
Throughout Monday, police attempted to contact those who remained on the island during the blast without success while also trying to discover how many people were missing. "Today our focus will be on working with the experts in determining the safety for us to return to the island to look to recover those people who are currently missing," Mr Bird said.
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