Whakaari eruption survivor Jesse Langford and his rescuer Paul Kingi have spoken of their special bond ahead of the fifth anniversary of the tragedy which claimed 22 lives.
Jesse, 24, lives in Sydney, and was travelling New Zealand with his father Antony, mother Kristine and sister Winona when they decided to take a trip to White Island on December 9, 2019.
All three of Langford’s family members died in the eruption, and Winona’s body was never recovered.
Langford was rescued by Kingi, who was a White Island Tours skipper at the time.
“I knew there was another group there and finding Jesse appearing out of this steam … that’s where we started, that’s where our bond started,” Kingi told 1News.
“It’ll be with us for the rest of our lives, there’s nothing we can do about that.”
The memory is still a bit blurry for Langford, who suffered burns to 72% of his body, and told 1News he’d “give anything to have another meal with my family”.
“I haven’t forgotten the look on your face even on that day, it was the first time I met you and I was like ‘wow”,” he said to Kingi.
“I’ve thanked him a million-and-one times and I’ll forever be thankful.”
Langford and Kingi are expected to be among those at memorial events in Whakatāne today to mark the fifth anniversary, including a karakia at dawn and a gathering at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae.
Survivors and victims’ families from around the world will be in attendance, including the Australian and British High Commissioners, with numbers expected to be the highest since the first anniversary.
Events have been taking place since Friday with the annual Whakaari Hayden Marshall Inman Memorial Golf Tournament in Ōhope, and the first ever Whakaari Waiata concert on Saturday, all raising money for a physical memorial at Whakatāne Heads.
