An Atlanta woman who was seriously injured in New Zealand’s White Island volcano eruption earlier this month died on Sunday.
Mayuari "Mary" Singh died at a hospital in Auckland, according to the New York Post. Singh's death brings to the total number of fatalities to 17, according to police.
Singh and her husband, Pratap "Paul" Singh, were among the 47 tourists exploring the island when the volcano erupted Dec. 9.
The Singhs were recovering from burns in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital, where their conditions had been previously listed as stable.
However, Mayuari Singh suffered complications with her treatment, which included skin grafts on burns covering 70 percent of her body.
Pratap Singh was burned on 40 percent of his body and remains hospitalized.
Specialist medical teams have been arriving in New Zealand from Australia, Britain and the United States. Skin banks were also sending tissue to New Zealand hospitals to use for grafts.
Authorities say 24 Australians, nine Americans, five New Zealanders, four Germans, two Britons, two Chinese and a Malaysian were on the island at the time. Many were from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that had left Sydney two days earlier.
Ash and other fallout from the eruption has made the sea near the island toxic, and divers have to be washed clean after every completed dive.
Scientists have warned that White Island, which is the exposed tip of a mostly undersea volcano, is highly volatile, and has been venting steam and mud regularly.
The eruption occurred as 47 tourists and their guides were exploring the island.
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