Two months after falling victim to the sudden volcano eruption that shook White Island in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, an Australian woman has awaken from her coma only to learn that the natural disaster took the lives of her husband and daughter.
Lisa Dallow, from the South Australian capital city Adelaide, is currently confined and is still under intensive treatment at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital in the burns unit. Sky News reported that 60 percent of her entire body was burned. She is currently suffering from serious burns but is reportedly in stable condition.
News Corp reported on Tuesday that the 48-year-old engineer was told that her husband Gavin Dallow and their teenage daughter Zoe Hosking did not survive the eruption. The two were 53 years old and 15 years old respectively. Gavin Dallow died in a helicopter during a rescue mission while Zoe Hosking died near the island as plummeting ash engulfed the entire island.
The family was enjoying a day trip to White Island at the time of the eruption on December 9 last year. 21 people were killed in the disaster. Known to be one of the most active volcanoes in New Zealand, the stratovolcano is a popular tourist destination among foreign travelers.
My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001. My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable. #whiteisland pic.twitter.com/QJwWi12Tvt
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019
A funeral service for Gavin was heald at the Adelaide Oval on January 10 with around 600 mourners attending to pay their last respects to the late lawyer. Zoe’s service has yet been held as Lisa’s family is hoping for her to recover well enough to bid her last farewell to her daughter.