A mother and her daughter from Brisbane have been named as the first Australian victims of the White Island volcano disaster.
WATCH: Volcano erupts in White Island, New Zealand
They are Julie Richards, 47, and her daughter Jessica, 20.
Family friend, John Mickel spoke on behalf of Julie and Jessica’s loved ones on Wednesday.
‘It is just devastating news,’ he told media.
‘If there was an adventure that offered itself, then they would be the ones to do it.’
He added, ‘You live in hope it’s not going to be your loved one’s name that comes up.
‘But the hope was snuffed out this morning with the message from the New Zealand police.’
The heartbreaking news comes after it was announced 19-year-old Sydneysider Jesse Langford was found alive in hospital. His mother Kristine, father Anthony and sister Winona, 17, are still missing.
Adelaide woman Lisa Dallow, 48, has also been found alive, while her husband Gavin, 53, and daughter Zoe, 15, are among the unaccounted for.
As of Wednesday afternoon, White Island is still too unstable to retrieve the bodies of eight people presumed dead, while 20 Australian are still unaccounted for.
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