7Michael/iStock(WHAKATANE, New Zealand) — Police in New Zealand on Tuesday said they’re calling off the search for two people who went missing during a volcano eruption earlier this month.
Nineteen people, including Americans, were killed when the volcano erupted on Dec. 9 on White Island, off the northeast coast of New Zealand.
There were 47 people on White Island at the time of the blast.
The two still missing — Hayden Marshall-Inman, 40, from New Zealand, and Winona Langford, 17, from Australia — were believed to be washed out to sea, officials said.
Despite massive searches from the shoreline and from the air, no remains have been recovered.
Their families have been informed, said Superintendent Andy McGregor.
New Zealand Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the blast.
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