5 dead, many more missing in eruption of New Zealand volcano

Umbrella Carp · Dec 10, 2019

Wonderment said:
My cousin's sister-in-law just posted that my cousin is in the hospital too, no status on condition or anything. I'll share what I can when I know something, but I know nothing about their itinerary other than one of their children lives in Australia and they were doing a vacation-and-visit thing in the region.

Is it the American or British couple?

GestaltGaz · Dec 10, 2019

Wonderment said:
Update: my cousin and her husband were rescued from the volcano. They made it to the hospital and are both stable and speaking.

Both suffered burns, he will have surgery at some point.

Her brother who lives in Maryland has been able to speak to her a little.

We'll be keeping everyone else in our thoughts.

Terrible :( Hope they pull through ok. Still many people waiting on news of loved ones, I couldn't imagine going through that.

JustJavi · Dec 10, 2019

A 6th person just died in the hospital tonight.

Teenage Fansub · Dec 10, 2019

NZ Herald posted pictures and names of some of the affected and missing folks. There's a whole missing family in there :/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12292595

Deleted member 13101 · Dec 10, 2019

Umbrella Carp said:
Is it the American or British couple?

They're American, but not the couple you've been hearing about.

Umbrella Carp · Dec 10, 2019

Wonderment said:
They're American, but not the couple you've been hearing about.

It's a tad off topic but when your cousin returns home, you should absolutely talk him into using the media attention he no doubt attracts to blast the U.S healthcare system after he's seen the greener grass on the other side. His surgery + treatment + hospital stay will very likely be free of charge covered by the New Zealand government, even for a foreign tourist.

Deleted member 13101 · Dec 10, 2019

Umbrella Carp said:
It's a tad off topic but when your cousin returns home, you should absolutely talk him into using the media attention he no doubt attracts to blast the U.S healthcare system after he's seen the greener grass on the other side. His surgery + treatment + hospital stay will very likely be free of charge covered by the New Zealand government, even for a foreign tourist.

Yeah it's off topic for sure. For now I'm not assuming anything, but just hoping she makes it home ok. She may decide to visit her stepson in Australia first, if they feel up to it. It's going to be a while yet. What you want from them, or me, is going to have to wait.

JustJavi · Dec 10, 2019

Umbrella Carp said:
His surgery + treatment + hospital stay will very likely be free of charge covered by the New Zealand government, even for a foreign tourist.

It'll be fully covered by ACC, not the government. They don't really have a saying in this. From their website:

If you're visiting New Zealand and have been injured or lost a loved one
If you've been injured while visiting New Zealand we'll pay for your medical care. If you've lost a loved one there are also other ways we can support you:

Helping with funeral costs
We pay a funeral grant of up to $6,311 towards funeral and memorial costs. You don't pay any tax on this. You can choose to have the funeral or memorial in New Zealand or overseas.

Survivor grants for families
Families may also be able to receive a one-off payment to the deceased's partner, children and dependants.

We'll pay:

$6,766 to the spouse or partner

$3,383 to each child under 18 or other dependants. If the child or dependant is under 16, this money will go to their parent or caregiver. You don't pay any tax on this

Deleted member 13101 · Feb 7, 2020

Yeah it's a bump, but a good one. After several surgeries each and weeks of rehab, my cousin and her husband are now back home in the US. More recovery will be needed but they are on the mend.

Jedi2016 · Feb 7, 2020

Good to hear! Give them our best!