20 Dec 2019

Whakaari tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman's life celebrated

From Checkpoint, 5:25 pm on 20 December 2019

The missing Whakaari tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman died a hero, giving his life to save others, according to the helicopter pilots who were first on the island to rescue survivors.

The bodies of Mr Marshall-Inman and Australian tourist Winona Langford, have yet to be recovered after the eruption, which killed 16 others.

But today Hayden's friends and whānau gathered to celebrate his life - and the effect he had not only on the local community, but strangers from all over the world.

Nita Blake-Persen reports.