8 Dec 2020

Whakaari: Man in charge of recovery mission describes stress

From Morning Report, 6:44 am on 8 December 2020

The man in charge of sending a specially trained team back onto Whakaari after the eruption says thinking of all the things that could go wrong took him to a dark place.

After days of planning and risk assessment, eight members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team went back on the island.

There was still a risk of an eruption at the time of the recovery and the mission was considered so dangerous the head of the Defence Force had to sign a special exemption bypassing Health and Safety protocols.

Lieutenant colonel Mike Nochete was the on scene commander and made the recommendation to send the team onto the island knowing there was a chance they could inhale toxic gases or have their skin burned by acidic sludge.

He told reporter Charlotte Cook about how that decision played on his mind and the lead up to that moment.