More than two dozen
people were feared missing on Tuesday, a day after a volcano that is a tourist
attraction suddenly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island,
killing at least five people and injuring up to 20.
Police said early on
Tuesday they did not expect to find any more survivors from the volcanic
eruption, which occurred on White Island on Monday at about 2:11 p.m. (0111
GMT), spewing a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air.
About 50 people, New
Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, are believed to have been nearby at the
time and several were seen near the rim of the crater minutes before the
eruption.
Rescue services have
been unable to reach White Island as it remains too dangerous.
Tour operators took
some people off the island before it was declared unsafe. Twenty-three people
were rescued, police said on Monday, adding that others were still on the
island.
Many day tours visit
the island regularly. One from a 16-deck cruise liner, Ovation of the Seas, was
there at the time.
Several people with
burn injuries were brought by helicopter to Whakatane, the nearest town on the
mainland.
“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,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference after landing in
Whakatane late on Monday.
White Island is about
50 km (30 miles) from the east coast of North Island and huge plumes were
visible from the mainland. Volcanologists said the ash plume shot 12,000 feet
(3,658 m) into the air.
Geological hazard
tracker GeoNet raised the alert level for the White Island volcano in November
due to an increase in volcanic activity.
The White Island
volcano’s last fatal eruption was in 1914, when it killed 12 sulfur miners.
There was a short-lived eruption in April 2016. Daily tours allow more than
10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.
About 70 percent is
under the sea, making the massive volcanic structure the largest in New
Zealand.
