Police have formally released the name of one of the victims of the White Island eruption.
She was 21-year-old Krystal Browitt, an Australian citizen.
Browitt was one of the nine people listed by police on Wednesday as officially missing. They were the people not hospitalised or discharged.
She was from Melbourne, where her neighbours were holding on to hope she had survived the disaster.
"My legs and hands are shaking, I'm just still thinking, hoping and praying the younger one comes back home safely. She's still missing. I have no words how beautiful they were," said Browitt's neighbour Suprita Konda earlier this week.
It is understood that Browitt - a veterinary student - had been on the Ovation of the Seas cruise with her family celebrating her 21st birthday. Her father and sister were reportedly hospitalised following the eruption.
She was employed by Australian supermarket company Woolworths, which released a statement on Wednesday saying its thoughts were with the loved ones of the victims.
"We're also offering our support to their colleagues, who are understandably shaken by the news."
Of the 47 people on the island when it erupted on Monday, December 9, 24 are understood to have been Australian. At least 16 people were killed in the eruption, with a further 30 seriously injured.
On Friday, six bodies were retrieved from the island, with two remaining on the volcano or in the water around it.
The Coroner must sign off on identification before the release of names. This follows a Disaster Victim Identification process (DVI), which is being undertaken in Auckland.
There are five stages to the victim identification process.
Phase 1: Scene
- The deceased are examined and documented, then taken to the mortuary.
Phase 2: Mortuary
- The body is examined by a pathologist, forensic dentist, fingerprint officer and Police DVI team.
- Personal effects such as jewellery, clothing are photographed, then collected, examined, cleaned, re-photographed and secured.
Phase 3: Ante-mortem Information retrieval
Ante-mortem retrieval is when information is brought in about a missing person from the outside.
- Police gather information about possible victims, such as descriptions of appearance, clothing, jewellery, photos medical and dental records, x-rays fingerprints, and DNA samples.
Phase 4: Reconciliation
- Information from post-mortem and ante-mortem phases are brought together to find a match.
- At an identification hearing, the Coroner is presented evidence of the match by fingerprint, dentistry, DNA and Police DVI experts and decides if identification has been established.
- Family and/or foreign authorities are advised, then media.
Phase 5: Debrief
- People involved in the DVI process keep each other updated throughout all stages.
- Support and welfare is made available to staff including stress and grief counsellors, chaplains, Victim Support and Police Welfare officers.
