By Zehra Nur Duz
ANKARA (AA) - Search and rescue operations will continue at the local level for two victims who could not be found in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, police said Wednesday.
"With the chances of finding their bodies diminishing, the nature of the recovery operation is changing," Deputy Commissioner John Tims said in a written statement on an eruption last week of the White Island Volcano, also known as Whakaari.
Expressing sadness for the victims, Tims said: "The national operation will now revert to a local-led response."
"It is the considered view of experts that those bodies have been washed out to sea following a significant weather event on the island the night of the eruption," he added.
Recognizing the "immense pain" of the victims' families, Tims noted that there was "no guarantee their bodies will be located".
"It's both disappointing and frustrating to be in this position," he said.
The statement, however, underlined that authorities remained determined to rescue the bodies of all victims who lost their lives on the island.
The bodies of tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman, 40, and Australian tourist Winona Langford, 17 remain to be found.
Police in New Zealand said they recovered six bodies from the sea surrounding White Island, as the death toll rose to 16 since the eruption on Dec. 9.
New Zealand scientists warned of possible further eruptions on the country's most active volcano.
Victims include tourists from Australia, the U.K., China, Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia and the U.S.
White Island had last erupted in 2001.