Missing Raoul Island Conservation Volunteer

Minister of Conservation, Kate Wilkinson, today paid tribute to missing Department of Conservation volunteer Mihai Muncus-Nagy, who is presumed to have been swept off rocks on Raoul Island on Monday in a tragic accident.

"My thoughts and sympathies are today with the family of Mr Muncus-Nagy in Romania.

“Mihai was a dedicated and passionate conservationist. He was carrying out valuable conservation work on behalf of the department on this remote and special island," says Ms Wilkinson.

“He was a skilled, capable and passionate volunteer who was doing what he loved in a place he had wanted to visit since childhood. It is very sad to think that his ‘once in a lifetime experience’ has ended in an accident of this nature.

“An offer has been made to Mihai’s wife to visit New Zealand and see the contribution her husband, alongside other volunteers, was making to the conservation of the Kermadecs.”

The Minister also thanks all those involved in the search, in particular the six DOC staff and volunteers based on the island, for their tireless efforts to find their friend and workmate.

A full investigation into the incident will be undertaken in due course.