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Agencies

New Zealand said on Tuesday that eight people were still missing a day after a volcano unexpectedly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island, killing at least five people.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters in Whakatane, a town near the volcanic White Island, that a number of people were in hospital in critical condition.
She said that New Zealanders and tourists from Australia, the United States, Britain, China and Malaysia were among the injured.
A police spokesman said that 31 people were in hospital. He confirmed that five people had died.


About 50 people were believed to have been in the vicinity and several were seen near the rim of the crater at White Island minutes before the eruption.
Police said that despite several aerial reconnaissance flights to try to find survivors, “no signs of life have been seen at any point”.
“Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation,” the police said in a statement.
“Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island. Police are working urgently to confirm the exact number of those who have died.”

My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001. 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. #whiteisland pic.twitter.com/QJwWi12Tvt
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019

As night fell, deputy commissioner John Tims said volcanic activity made any rescue attempt by land too dangerous.
“I’ve got to consider the safety of our people and emergency services staff,” he said.
The New Zealand military is expected to make a pass of the island at first light in the hope that people may have survived against the odds.

The eruption occurred just after 2pm on Monday, thrusting a thick plume of white ash 3.6km (2.2 miles) into the sky.
Michael Schade, an engineering manager from San Francisco, was one of the tourists who made it off the island just before the eruption.
In a video Schade posted on Twitter as he sped away from the island by boat, a huge plume of white ash soars into the sky as a group of frightened tourists huddles close to the shore.
“This is so hard to believe,” Schade said. “Our whole tour group was literally standing at the edge of the main crater not 30 minutes before.”

A crater rim camera, owned and operated by New Zealand science agency GeoNet, showed groups of people walking towards and away from the rim inside the crater in the hour leading up to the eruption. At 2pm, the camera showed a group of people right at the edge of the rim.
At 2.10pm – just a minute before the eruption – the group was seen headed away from the rim, following a well-worn track across the crater.
White Island is about 50km (30 miles) from the east coast of North Island and huge plumes were visible from the mainland. Vulcanologists said the ash plume shot 3,658 metres into the air.
“White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,” said Ray Cas, a professor emeritus at Monash University, in comments published by the Australian Science Media Centre.

The latest on the volcano eruption on Whakaari/White Island in NZ ⬇ pic.twitter.com/umcHb56ubW
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) December 9, 2019

“Having visited it twice, I have always felt that it was too dangerous to allow the daily tour groups that visit the uninhabited island volcano by boat and helicopter.”
Prime Minister Ardern landed in Whakatane late on Monday and met rescue teams.
“I know there will be a huge amount of concern and anxiety for those who had loved ones on or around the island at the time. I can assure them that police are doing everything they can,” she told a news conference earlier.
On Twitter, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 24 Australians were on White Island when the volcano erupted.
“There are still people who are unaccounted for, including Australians. We are working to confirm this information with NZ authorities,” Morrison said in a statement.

“We hope to know more in the morning, however we must prepare for some difficult news in the days ahead,” he said.
Kevin O’Sullivan, chief executive of the New Zealand Cruise Association, said: “We believe there is a tour party from Ovation of the Seas involved in the White Island eruption. We have no further details at the moment.”
Ovation of the Seas is a 16-deck cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises. It can take nearly 5,000 passengers and has a crew of about 1,500. It is docked at Tauranga, on the North Island, on a cruise that began in Sydney on December 3.
“We can confirm that a number of our guests were touring the island today,” a company representative said in an emailed statement. “We do not have any additional details to share at this time.”

There seemed to be no danger for people in coastal areas farther away, authorities said.
The eruption was unexpected, but not unusual, an expert said.
“Sudden, unheralded eruptions from volcanoes such as White Island can be expected at any time,” said Shane Cronin, a vulcanologist at the University of Auckland.
“We know hydrothermal and so-called ‘phreatic’ eruptions can occur suddenly and with little or no warning because they are driven by the expansion of superheated water into steam.”

Terrible tragedy on White Island, an active volcano off NZ coast. My thoughts are with family of deceased & all injured & traumatised by the sudden eruption. Having walked to the crater on the island, I can well imagine the terror of what happened. https://t.co/Wlc5IaBVmX
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) December 9, 2019


Geological hazard tracker GeoNet raised the alert level for the White Island volcano in November due to an increase in volcanic activity.
Just last week, GeoNet vulcanologist Brad Scott said in a report that moderate volcanic unrest continued at White Island, with substantial gas, steam and mud bursts observed at the vent located at the back of the crater lake.
The White Island volcano’s last fatal eruption was in 1914, when it killed 12 sulphur miners. There was a short-lived eruption in April 2016.

Those are some of the people put boat picked up. 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: pic.twitter.com/jds5QBD1yg
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019


White Island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.
Whakaari, as it is known in Māori, is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, built up by continuous volcanic activity over the past 150,000 years, according to GeoNet.
About 70 per cent is under the sea, making the massive volcanic structure the largest in New Zealand.


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New Zealand

White Island: New Zealand volcano traps tourists from China, Malaysia and US; kills 5

The volcano on White Island spewed steam and ash moments it erupted on Monday. Photo: Michael Schade via AFP

epa08056794 An image provided by visitor Michael Schade shows tourists and tour guides fleeing White Island (Whakaari) volcano, as it erupts, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, 09 December 2019. According to police, at least five people have died in the volcanic erruption at around 2:11 pm local time on 09 December. The island is located around 40km offshore of the Bay of Plenty. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL SCHADE MANDATORY CREDIT: MICHAEL SCHADE EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Map of White Island in New Zealand. Graphic: SCMP

Emergency services attend to an injured person arrvign at Whakatane Airfield after the White Island volcanic eruption. New Zealand Herald photograph by Alan Gibson 09 December 2019 ATTENTION burns to the face of victim visible

Thick smoke from the volcanic eruption of Whakaari, also known as White Island, is seen from a distance of a vessel on Monday. Photo: @SCH via Reuters

Another Indonesian tsunami may be imminent, as experts fear extreme weather could collapse Anak Krakatoa volcano

A plume of ash rises as Anak Krakatoa erupts in Indonesia on Sunday, in this picture obtained from social media. Photo: Susi Air via Reuters

TOPSHOT - This picture taken with a long exposure shows lighting bolts striking along the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra in Rajabasa, in Lampung province, on December 25, 2018, three days after a tsunami - caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa - hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island. - Desperately needed aid flowed into a stretch of Indonesia's tsunami-struck coastline on December 25, officials said, but aid workers warned that clean water and medicine supplies were dwindling as thousands crammed makeshift evacuation centres. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

A tsunami survivor with stitches to her face rests at a hospital ward in Kalianda, Lampung province on December 25, 2018, three days after the disaster - caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa - hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island. - Desperately needed aid flowed into a stretch of Indonesia's tsunami-struck coastline on December 25, officials said, but aid workers warned that clean water and medicine supplies were dwindling as thousands crammed makeshift evacuation centres. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

TOPSHOT - An aerial view shows an area affected by a tsunami that hit Sumber Jaya village in Sumur, Pandeglang, Banten province on December 25, 2018, three days after the tsunami - caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa - hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island. - Desperately needed aid flowed into a stretch of Indonesia's tsunami-struck coastline on December 25, officials said, but aid workers warned that clean water and medicine supplies were dwindling as thousands crammed makeshift evacuation centres. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)

Danger level raised for Indonesia volcano as rocks and ash burst into the sky, locals urge ‘pray for us’

People search among debris at an area affected by the tsunami in Labuhan, Banten province, Indonesia. Authorities have warned of further eruptions, with smoke and ash spewing from the volcano crater. Photo: Reuters

Residents disembark from a ferry at the port after being evacuated from Sebesi Island, in Bakauheni in Lampung province on December 26, 2018, after the December 22 tsunami - caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa - hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island. - Indonesian search and rescue teams on December 26 plucked stranded residents from remote islands and pushed into isolated communities desperate for aid in the aftermath of a volcano-triggered tsunami that killed over 400. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

This picture taken on December 26, 2018 shows the Anak Krakatoa volcano erupting, as seen from a ship on the Sunda Straits. - Indonesia on December 27 raised the danger alert level for a volcano that sparked a killer tsunami, after previously warning that fresh activity at the crater threatened to launch another deadly wave. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Indonesia's Minister of Women Empowerment and Children Yohana Yembise (C) gestures during a visit to a temporary shelter in Labuhan, Banten Province on December 27, 2018 for survivors of the December 22 tsunami, caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa. - Nearly 22,000 people have been evacuated and are living in shelters after the tsunami. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

Dark tourism: volcano villages in Indonesia destroyed by eruption offer grim testament to its power

Visitors enjoy a lava tour on Mount Merapi, Indonesia. Nine years after an eruption killed more than 350 people and destroyed three villages, disaster tourism is thriving on its slopes. Photo: James Wendlinger

Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Sign in memory of the 2 persons who died in Kaliadem bunker during the eruption in 2010, Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Angus Riyanto one of the driver of Lava tour in Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Mini Museum near Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Clock showing the exact time of the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Tourist pose in front of Kaliadem bunker Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Tourist poses in front of Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Umbulharjo Sumyati, village head and owner of the Mini Museum, Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

Signal showing the limit not to cross to Mount Merapi, Indonesia. SCMP/James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

From volcano lava to love scams, five risks for China’s growing band of overseas tourists

Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano has become one of the world’s top tourist attractions. Photo: AP

MBX3BG Chinese tourists looking back at the boat wake while cruising at the Great Barrier Reef, Far North Queensland, QLD, FNQ, Australia

FILE PHOTO: Lava destroys homes in the Kapoho area, east of Pahoa, during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester/File Photo

(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 29, 2017, a man checks his cell phone as he waits in line to enter the US Supreme Court to view a hearing in Washington, DC, Carpenter v. United States on whether prosecutors violated the Fourth Amendment by collecting a criminal suspect's cellphone location and movement data without a warrant. In a landmark digital privacy case, the US Supreme Court ruled Friday, June 22, 2018, that police need a warrant before obtaining cell phone location data about a suspect from telecom companies. In a 5-4 decision, the nation's highest court said that cell phone location data is protected under the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure. The case stemmed from the police acquiring mobile phone location information about a robbery suspect without a warrant. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / ALEX WONG

Children play in one of the man-made lagoons at Ko Olina, with the Disney resort Aulani rising behind them. MUST CREDIT: Photo for The Washington Post by Alex Pulaski

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Eight still missing, with 31 in hospital, some in critical condition
New Zealanders and 24 Australians also believed to have been at scene



Eight still missing after White Island incident leaves at least five dead; New Zealanders and 24 Australians also believed to have been at scene.


Volcanoes

Tourism

Natural disasters

White Island: New Zealand volcano traps tourists from China, Malaysia and US; kills 5

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Eight still missing, with 31 in hospital, some in critical condition New Zealanders and 24 Australians also believed to have been at scene

Eight still missing, with 31 in hospital, some in critical condition

New Zealanders and 24 Australians also believed to have been at scene