New Zealand's military has begun a high-risk operation to recover the bodies of eight people killed in the volcanic eruption on White Island, despite warnings that the island remains highly volatile.
Defence force personnel landed on the island on Friday morning, along with assistance from police and other agencies, in a recovery mission which could take several hours, police said.
The mission was launched from a navy ship off the island. The teams are wearing protective gear, but the police gave no further details.
ABC photographer Brendan Esposito, who saw the operation start at 5:00am (local time), saw two helicopters land and take off again.
Members of the victims' families attended a blessing ceremony at sea before the mission began.
New Zealand police had previously ruled out going to the island because of fears the volcano could erupt again, but faced growing pressure from families desperate to see their loved ones' bodies returned.
Six bodies could be seen and there would be "very limited" opportunity to search for the other two, Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement said on Thursday.
The risks in sending people to White Island are extremely high. The volcano remains "highly volatile" and could erupt again within days, experts have warned.
New Zealand's geological science agency GNS Science said the risk of a further eruption over the next 24 hours was at 50 to 60 per cent
"My concerns are about the weather, the direction of the wind, the sea state, because they all bring risk, they all add complexity," Deputy Commissioner Clement told reporters on Thursday.
"A lot has to go right for this to work."
More Australians flown home for treatment
Yesterday the number of people identified as having died in Monday's eruption rose to eight, including six Australians, but that number is expected to rise as bodies are brought back from the island and identified today.
Survivors are being treated in hospitals across New Zealand and in Australia, and have suffered burns on up to 90 per cent of their bodies.
A Careflight crew flew two more Australian victims from New Zealand to Sydney's Concord Hospital on Thursday night.
Eight Australians have now been repatriated, with the final two patients expected to return in the next 24 hours.
ABC/wires
