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New Zealand police have confirmed one person is dead, and say they fear the death toll may rise, after a devastating volcanic eruption on the country's White Island.
Key points:
- People were spotted inside the crater just minutes before the eruption
- A number of people are still missing and police fear more may be dead
- Authorities believe fewer than 50 people were on the island when the volcano erupted
More than 20 people are still missing after the eruption, which happened at 2:11pm local time and sent plumes of white smoke and debris high into the sky.
Just one minute before that webcam footage had captured what appeared to be people walking inside the volcano crater.
Authorities said fewer than 50 people had been on the tiny island at the time of the explosion, revising down an earlier estimate of around 100.
Twenty-three people have been taken off the island on boats. Authorities say "most of them" have suffered burns.
However many are still unaccounted for and there are fears of multiple fatalities.
"I can confirm there is one fatality, and based on the information we have there is likely to be more," National Operation Commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims said
"There are 27 people potentially still on the island."
No details about the nationalities of those involved have been released and police said they had zero communication with anyone on the island.
"At this stage, it is too dangerous for police and rescue services to go to the island," Mr Tims said.
"However, we continue to assess the conditions which would allow us to go onto the island. The island is currently covered in ash and volcanic material. We are taking expert advice with regards to the safety of any rescue attempt."
Dr Ken Gledhill from the New Zealand geological agency GNS Science told a press conference the eruption was a "throat clearing" and said the volcano had "showed increased activity for the last few weeks".
"We can't be certain there won't be another eruption in the next 24 hours," Dr Gledhill added.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would not be drawn on the question of whether tourists should have been allowed onto the island.
"The absolute focus needs to be the search and rescue," Ms Ardern said.
30 minutes shy of disaster
Eyewitness Michael Schade tweeted dramatic video footage of the events and said he and the tour group he was with had been on the edge of the main crater just 30 minutes before the eruption.
Footage Mr Schade posted to Twitter showed wild scenes as smoke billowed from the crater and helicopters he described as "destroyed" sat in the foreground.
"My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001," Mr Schade tweeted.
"Our whole tour group were literally standing at the edge of the main crater not 30 minutes before."
Mr Schade said that while he was lucky to have left the island tour operators went back soon after to bravely rescue people "12-14 minutes after the eruption".
He then described how his mother tended to an injured woman in the boat taking them off the island.
"My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable.
"My thoughts with the families of those currently unaccounted for, the people recovering now, and especially the rescue workers."
"Praying for them and their recovery. Woman my mom tended to was in critical condition but seemed strong by the end. The helicopters on the island looked destroyed
St John Ambulance director of operations Norma Lane told Newstalk ZB as many as seven helicopters were heading to the island.
"We're expecting burns, there could be respiratory issues, there could be head injuries, fractures, et cetera from rocks or stones, we really don't know at this stage. This is an incident that is still evolving and we're still waiting to get the reports from the clinicians on the scene," Ms Lane said, according to the NZ Herald.
"We will get to those people as quickly as we can and get them to the right centres."
The mayor of the area had earlier confirmed that people were injured in the event.
"I'm not sure if these people were on the island or near it, but there was definitely one group out there and they definitely needed medical care," WhakatAne Mayor Judy Turner said.
"There were some injuries and the focus is on getting these injured people back safely and to get them to a hospital."
She added there seemed to be no danger for the people in the coastal areas, farther from the volcano.
Police asked people to avoid areas on the North Island that were close to the eruption, including the Whakatane Heads and Muriwai Drive areas.
Tourist attraction with a deadly past
GeoNet, New Zealand's geological hazard information centre, describes White Island, also known as Whakaari, as New Zealand's most active cone volcano.
About 70 per cent of it is under the sea.
Twelve people were killed on the island in 1914 when it was being mined for sulphur. Part of a crater wall collapsed and a landslide destroyed the miners' village and the mine itself.
The remains of buildings from another mining enterprise in the 1920s are now a tourist attraction, according to GeoNet.
The island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.
Geonet, raised its alert level to four for a "moderate" volcanic eruption and the country's aviation code has been raised to orange amid concerns about the impact on flights.
A volcanic ash advisory has also been issued for the surrounding area.
ABC/AP
Topics: volcanic-eruption, disasters-and-accidents, new-zealand
First posted