The firefighter and a man she rescued during the Whakaari/White Island eruption in 2019 have reconnected for the first time since the tragedy occurred.
Tracey Rhodes told 1News she had no contact with Jesse Langford after December 9, 2019, nor did she know anything about him.
“We had a young boy come off the boat that was quite injured and the paramedics and us spent a bit of time helping him and he ended up going off in the rescue helicopter and that was the last we’d seen of him, all we knew that his name started with J and he was from Australia and I believe he was 19 and we haven’t heard anything until this morning and he’s absolutely fine."
The Langford family were on the trip together when the eruption occurred. Jesse's parents died and his sister has never been found.
The commemorations began with a dawn service attended by many involved on the day, 1News' Yvonne Tahana reports. (Source: 1News)
Rhodes said Jesse told her this morning he's very grateful all of the fire crews and everyone else helped the victims.
She added she was especially worried about the man and has been thinking about him for the past three years.
“He in particular I have always wondered how he went, how he got on, where he went. He’s from Sydney, I didn’t know that so it was really nice to meet him."
Twenty-two people, including 17 Australian tourists, died when the Bay of Plenty volcano sent rock, ash and gas hurtling skywards. (Source: 1News)
She said it was upsetting to see the families again this morning but she's pleased to finally reconnect with families of those who lost a loved one.
“I think it’s the first time they’ve been able to come back to New Zealand since it’s happened, hopefully it’s helpful for them to be able to come back and see it all, bring their families back.”
“It’s lovely to see them [the families] and I hope they get some comfort coming back and it’s not too difficult for them but for us and for me in particular I think and the rest of the crew as well, knowing that they’ve come back and get to finally be here I hope it helps them and I know for me it helped me.”
The families of local guide Hayden Marshall-Inman and Winona Langford met at a charity golf event in Ohope. (Source: 1News)
“For some reason today feels like its quite a sad day, probably just meeting the families, but it’ll be okay.”
She said nothing could have prepared her for what happened that day but everyone has done their best to move forward.
"I think it was just dealing with the unknown, arriving here before the boat had arrived with people coming off the island, I had no idea I thought there may have been a few cuts, a few broken bones.
Mark Inman, whose brother and tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman was never found, said time had gone so quickly since the tragedy. (Source: Breakfast)
"I didn’t really know what to expect and then as it unfolded it was something that we’d never dealt with before and on a scale I hadn’t seen for a long time so that became a bit of a rush blur and then yeah there’s certain aspects that you just remember.”
Twenty-two people including 17 Australian tourists died when the Bay of Plenty volcano sent rock, ash and gas hurtling skywards.
To mark three years since the eruption, an Australian couple who lost family members in the accident sent a wreath out to sea at a dawn service this morning.
Another service is scheduled for Australian families this afternoon at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae, where a minute of silence will be observed.
Iwi leader Joe Harawira said that the iwi was starting to think about what a permanent memorial could look like, but the tribe had also committed to holding karakia each and every anniversary.
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