Jesse Langford lost his entire family in the Whakaari eruption (Picture: Netflix)
A young Australian man who lost his entire family in the Whakaari / White Island volcano eruption in 2019 has spoken about the tragedy for the first time and shared what it was like being forced to leave his parents behind.
Alongside other survivors, and some of the rescuers who risked their own lives to help, Jesse Langford has spoken about what unfolded that day.
Jesse was 19 when he was on a cruise travelling around New Zealand with his family, father Anthony, 51, mother Kristine, 46, and 17-year-old sister Winona.
A self-confessed ‘adrenaline junkie’, Jesse had made the most of the trip, jumping off the country’s tallest building and going black water rafting.
So, when given the chance to visit an active volcano he, and his entire family, jumped at the chance.
But the day they went on December 9, 2019, they were among 47 people on the volcanic island when it erupted.
Whakaari erupted in 2019 (Picture: Netflix)
‘We saw what looked like a black firework or a dementor from Harry Potter looking shape and we all whipped out or phones to take photos,’ he said.
But it quickly became apparent they were all at risk.
‘After a bang and a massive even larger group of rocks flying into the air, slowly it began to increase in intensity and size,’ he said in the newly released documentary The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari.
The documentary charts a ‘minute-by-minute account’ of what unfolded, while also celebrating the survivors and ‘everyday people who courageously came to their rescue’.
‘Soon it was a black void. All you could hear was rumbling. At that point there was nothing I could do,’ Jesse explained of the moment where it became clear something was very wrong.
‘The smell was overwhelming and the heat was unbearable and it felt like the steam was burning me alive.’
Tourists who had just left the island watched the horror unfold from the ocean (Picture: Netflix)
Two minutes later it all stopped, but when the ash cleared, people were screaming and crying and ‘rolling around in severe pain’.
Jesse had suffered burns to 90% of his body.
While Jesse saw his dad nearby, his mother was ‘just lying there not really moving or communicating in any way’.
He had no idea where his younger sister was.
After about 30 minutes waiting for help, he started to realise there might not be anyone coming.
‘I was sitting there rocking in pain and my whole body was tingling. I was thinking I am going to die here; this is it,’ he shared.
At least six people around him were ‘dead or dying’ and he recalled hearing the ‘screaming and crying becoming less frequent and more quiet’.
Knowing he had to get some help also meant leaving his parents behind.
‘Standing up and walking away from parents was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do,’ he said.
He eventually was rescued and made it off the island but ended up in a coma in hospital.
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More than a week later he awoke, but was told by his grandfather his entire family was dead.
‘He said my dad had died in hospital and my mum had passed away on the island and her body was recovered by the New Zealand Army a few days later,’ he said.
‘But they weren’t sure where my sister was or what happened to her body.’
Winona’s body has never been recovered.
Now, three years, and 17 surgeries later, Jesse ‘refuses to quit no matter how hard it gets’.
‘Throughout my whole stay in hospital I made a strict point to take progress photos every other day so I can look back at them and see how far I’ve come,’ he said.
‘I was told I would be spending a year in hospital but I am proud to say my stay was just under two months. I’m a stubborn bastard. I refuse to give up I keep trying and trying.’
Director Rory Kennedy told the AAP interviewing Jesse was one of the most ‘intense’ of her career.
‘To understand what he went through, losing his family and finding whatever it was in himself to be able to get up and walk to the ocean’s edge to find help, it’s inspiration at its core,’ she said.
The documentary also includes never-before-seen footage from the island on the day of the eruption, including the blast and the moment people were told to run for their lives.
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A total of 22 people died in the eruption.
Whakaari remains closed to visitors.
The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari is now streaming on Netflix.
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‘It felt like the steam was burning me alive.’
