Nicola Mathews and Kirk Mathews Bowden, the siblings of Karla Mathews have released the following statement:

We recently received confirmation that our beloved sister Karla has been positively identified as one of those recovered from Whakaari/White Island earlier this week.

Our family is absolutely heartbroken and our big sister will be incredibly missed.

We have an enormous sense of relief that she has finally been found.

We would like to take this moment to express our deep gratitude to both the New Zealand and Australian governments for everything they have done for our family this past week.

We would like to especially thank the New Zealand Police for their unwavering efforts towards reuniting all families with their lost loved ones.

We respectfully decline further requests for information and ask that our privacy is respected as we grieve the loss of our beautiful sister.

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