New Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, 44, was sworn in by New Zealand’s governor-general during a ceremony in the capital, Wellington.

“This is the biggest privilege and responsibility of my life,” Hipkins said after formally taking office.

“I’m energised and excited by the challenges ahead.

Ardern said last week she no longer had “enough in the tank” after steering the country through natural disasters, its worst-ever terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic.

She made her last public appearance as prime minister earlier on Wednesday, walking out of parliament as hundreds of onlookers broke into a spontaneous round of applause.

Her centre-left government has increasingly struggled over the past two years, hampered by soaring inflation, a looming recession and a resurgent conservative opposition.

Hipkins, the architect of New Zealand’s pandemic response, is now tasked with reviving the government’s sagging popularity ahead of a general election in October.

The father-of-two is nicknamed “Chippy” and describes himself as a “regular, ordinary Kiwi” from a working-class background who loves sausage rolls and cycling to work.

“Covid-19 and the global pandemic created a health crisis. Now it’s created an economic one and that’s where my government’s focus will be,” Hipkins has said previously

The World Happiness Report, which was launched in 2012, is an annual survey conducted by the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The survey ranks global happiness in countries around the world.

The happiness index included surveys on how countries have dealt with the coronavirus pandemic that has shaken the world for more than a year.

On this year’s report, Iceland came in second, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

See the World’s 20 Happiest Countries.

Finland

Iceland

Denmark

Switzerland

Netherlands

Sweden

Germany

Norway

New Zealand

Austria

Israel

Australia

Ireland

United States

Canada

Czech Republic

Belgium

United Kingdom

China

France

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.

Richmond, Va., newlyweds Matthew and Lauren Urey were on a day trip to White Island from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation when the volcano went off, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Matthew, 36, was airlifted to a hospital in Christchurch with burns over 80 per cent of his body, while Lauren, 32, underwent surgery at an Auckland hospital with burns over 20 per cent of her body, the paper reported.

Matthew later left a frantic voice message at his mother’s home telling her he and his new wife were “very badly burned.”

Barbara Barham, Lauren’s mother, told the Washington Post that she learned her daughter had been hurt when she got a call from Matthew’s mom.

“Her son called and said that they had been on the excursion and there had been a volcano eruption and they were burned very bad,” Barham told the outlet.

Authorities scrambling to search for survivors after a volcanic island in New Zealand erupted said Monday that aerial searches have revealed “no signs of life” since the eruption.

The New Zealand police said in a press release early Tuesday morning local time that at least five people died and eight are missing when the eruption took place Monday afternoon on White Island. White Island sits about 30 miles offshore from mainland New Zealand and experts say it’s the country’s most active cone volcano, with about 70 percent of the volcano lying under the sea.

“Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation,” police stated. “Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.”

Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said at a news conference there were 47 people on the island when it erupted and that eight remain missing.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters that 31 people were in seven hospitals, including some in critical condition, while three had been discharged overnight. Arden said the victims include people from New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., the U.S., China and Malaysia.

“We share in your unfathomable grief in this moment and time,” Ardern said. “For now, our duty is to return loved ones.”

Victims are being treated at hospital burn units throughout the country, according to officials, who added that no additional victims have died since the initial blast on Monday, the New Zealand Herald reported.

“A flight attendant- I saw him grab an oxygen tank and he headed to the front of the plane,” Aarti Prasad, a passenger told the New Zealand Herald. “I looked on the screen and it was about eight minutes to landing. They almost made it.”

A call was made around 4:48 a.m. local time to dispatchers at St. Johns Hospital, which sent emergency vehicles and staff to the Boeing B772 immediately, according to a hospital spokesperson.

The sick passenger appeared to be in her 20s and collapsed at the beginning of the descent, according to Newshub.

“Once we landed, the captain came on the speaker himself … and said: ‘Look, we’ve just had a medical event. We can’t get off. Once we get there, the paramedics are meeting the passenger,'” Prasad said.

All passengers were required to sit on the tarmac for approximately 40 minutes while medical officials and police worked to get the passenger off the plane.

Prasad and other passengers were still unaware there had been a death on the flight until they left the aircraft. The flight staff only referred to the incident as a “serious medical emergency”.

“[The flight captain] was very reassuring to everybody,” Prasad said. “He kept talking to us throughout the whole time we were waiting.”

Local police said they were notified about the death prior to arriving on the scene and questioned the people sitting near the woman. The incident is currently being handled by the coroner’s office as a non-suspicious death.

New Zealand, Passenger, Medical Emergency, Prasad, Newshub, Auckland International Airport