The eruption, which occurred Monday on White Island, was so strong, military specialists had to wear special protective gear and breathing equipment, The Associated Press reported.

Scientists claim the discharged gases are so lethal, that even one breath could cause death.

The searchers were reportedly sent in by helicopter and later helped airlift the bodies to a ship, which was waiting off the Eastern coast of New Zealand. The bodies are set to be taken to Auckland for examination and identification.

Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims praised the military specialists for “their efforts and the bravery they have shown” after they all returned safely from their mission, according to The AP.

Forty-seven tourists, most of them from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, were exploring the island with tour guides during the eruption. Survivors suffered severe skin burns, with some being sent to medical burn units for skin grafts.

Police are currently planning a second recovery effort to locate the two remaining bodies.

A family with ties to the Chicago area has been confirmed to be among the victims, according to reports.

Teen brothers Berend and Matthew Hollander, ages 16 and 13, respectively, were born near Chicago and were confirmed as having been killed in the eruption by officials at the Australian school they were attending, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Their parents, Martin and Barbara Hollander, ages 48 and 50, respectively, are still unaccounted for.

Attorneys for the former “Empire” actor filed a response Tuesday to Chicago’s lawsuit in federal court. They also filed a counterclaim against the city, saying Smollett was the victim of a malicious prosecution that caused humiliation and extreme distress.

In January, Smollett told police he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from a Chicago Subway sandwich shop at approximately 2 a.m. The openly gay actor alleged that the masked men beat him, taunted him with homophobic and racial slurs and yelled, “This is MAGA country.”

In February, police determined that Smollett’s masked assailants were brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who trained Smollett and worked with him on “Empire.” Authorities also identified the brothers as those on surveillance video purchasing the rope that was reportedly hung around Jussie’s neck during the alleged attack.

After an intense investigation, police determined Smollett staged the entire episode with the help of two brothers, whom he paid to take part in the hoax assault, in an elaborate effort to drum up publicity for his middling career. After prosecutors dropped the case in March, Smollett maintained his innocence but agreed to let authorities keep a $10,000 bail.

He was charged with filing a false police report, but those charges were dropped by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx a few weeks later.

Library Commissioner Andrea Telli testified at City Council budget hearings on Wednesday — where she says hundreds of long-overdue books have been returned in recent weeks.

She says the policy, which went into effect on Oct. 1, has been great in getting readers and books back in local libraries.

“The amount of books returned has increased by 240 percent. A huge increase in the number of books coming back. We’re very, very happy to have that. …Those books have a value and cost money to buy. We want those assets back. We also want the patron to come back,” Telli said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Library use has seen a drastic decline when compared to the previous decade due to technology changes, with only 44 percent of Americans visiting a local library or bookmobile in 2016, according to the Atlantic.

Three years earlier that rate was 53 percent.

She said the 2019 book return increase could be attributed to the elimination of fear most book users have about coming face to face with their fines.

“Just by word of mouth, and also on the library’s social media pages like Facebook, we saw a lot of patrons say, ‘Oh my God. This is so great. I’m gonna bring back my books. I’ve been hesitant to come back to the library because I owe these fines,’” Telli said.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the policy’s goal is to assist both youth and low-income readers in the area who don’t have as much disposable income to pay off the fines.

Chicago Police

✔@Chicago_Police

Michael Blackman, 45, is wanted related to this morning’s shooting of a Chicago Police Officer. This offender is also the alleged suspect from Wednesday’s shooting on the 200 block of N Milwaukee.

Dial 911 if you see this wanted offender or send tips to http://CPDtip.com .

The suspect, 45-year-old Michael Blackman, managed to flee the scenes of both shootings and should be considered “armed and dangerous,” Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Anthony Guglielmi

✔@AJGuglielmi

The officer is completing surgery and is in stable condition. Offender has fled and is considered armed and dangerous. Police units @USMarshalsHQ @ATF_Chicago are responding to and scene searching for gunman.

Anthony Guglielmi

✔@AJGuglielmi

The alleged suspect in this police shooting is Michael Blackman. The suspected gunman from the shooting in 200 BLK of N. MILWAUKEE. Consider him armed and dangerous.

The injured officer, who has not been identified, was shot and wounded at around 8:40 a.m. while serving a warrant on the city’s South Side. He is 40 years old and a 16-year veteran of the Chicago police force in the fugitive apprehension team, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Doctors said the officer was shot once in the groin and twice in his lower left leg. According to Guglielmi, the officer lost nearly a third of his blood despite applying a tourniquet on himself. The officer underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition.

Anthony Guglielmi

✔@AJGuglielmi

MEDIA HELICOPTERS: Please vacate area by 65th street to make way for police helicopters to assist with investigation and apprehension.

Anthony Guglielmi

✔@AJGuglielmi

Doctors say the officer lost nearly a third of his blood following a groin injury. The officer was able to apply a tourniquet thanks to @CPDpolicefdtn for raising funds to equip these officers with life saving tools.

“He came basically bleeding to death,” said Jane Kayle Lee, the trauma surgeon who operated on the officer for about 2 hours. “He had already lost a significant amount of blood.”

Blackman is accused of shooting a 29-year-old woman while he was riding a bicycle in the Fulton River District on Wednesday, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told Fox 32 Chicago. The woman was shot in the back but is expected to survive, he said.

On Friday, police released surveillance video from a bicycle shop showing Blackman at the counter getting a flat tire fixed just minutes before Wednesday’s shooting.

Fox 32 Chicago reported that the fugitive apprehension team was trying to arrest Blackman when the shooting took place at around 8:40 a.m. After officers knocked on the door, Blackman ran out the back of the home and shot the officer.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked Chicagoans to pray for the officer and his family, as well as all first responders and law enforcement officials “who work day and night to protect our residents.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates,” she said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot

✔@chicagosmayor

I ask all Chicagoans to join me in praying for the officer shot earlier today and his family, and for the continued safety of our first responders and law enforcement who work day and night to protect our residents. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.

In a separate incident, two other officers were injured after responding to a call about a man with a gun inside of a South Side restaurant shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday. After the officers patted down the man and found his gun, he pushed past them, ran outside, got into a vehicle and drove off, dragging both officers before getting away.

The two officers were hospitalized with abrasions, contusions, internal injuries and possible bone fractures. Their names and the name of the driver, if police know it, haven’t been released.

Chicago Police Department shared a series of pictures Saturday morning that showed one of their own “going the extra mile.”

The unidentified female officer with the 18th District responded to reports of a “person down” in the 1100 block of North Clark Street. Once on the scene, she observed the male victim “unresponsive” on the sidewalk.

Police say she immediately began performing chest compressions and continued to do so even after paramedics arrived on the scene. Shortly after, emergency responders administered naloxone and the man was revived.

He was transported to an area hospital where he is recovering.

“Thanks to this astute Officer, this man is alive and is receiving medical treatment. Great work!” a second tweet from the department read.