Five dead, 24 Australians caught up as Whakaari volcano erupts on White Island off New Zealand coast
At least 10 people are believed to still be on Whakaari or White Island, where a volcano erupted today, killing at least five.
At least 10 people are believed to still be on Whakaari or White Island, where a volcano erupted at midday AEDT killing at least five, New Zealand police said during a conference tonight.
Earlier they had estimated that fewer than 50 people were on or around the island at the time of the eruption. Among the 50 were 24 Australians.
Since the eruption, 23 people have been evacuated from the island. Five of those have died, and the rest have been transported to hospital, authorities said.
Former Whakatane mayor Tony Bonne says one of the people killed was an experienced guide for White Island Tours - “a young energetic man who’s lost his life”.
White Island Tours’ website has been taken down and replaced with a message which says they’re currently experiencing an emergency.
Police said it was too dangerous to search the island following the eruption.
Meanwhile, a statement from St John Ambulance said it had now dispatched paramedics on helicopters, and was aiming to establish a triage unit on the island.
The New Zealand Defence Force confirmed “assets and personnel” had been dispatched to the area to help emergency services.
“Orion aircraft has flown over White Island carrying out surveillance to assist in the emergency response following the eruption and two NH90 helicopters have flown to Whakatane,” the Defence Force said in a statement.
The eruption of the #WhiteIsland volcano in New Zealand at 2:11pm today captured in real time by the #Himawari8 satellite pic.twitter.com/WY5GSeIopD
— Dr Robbi Bishop-Taylor (@EarthObserved) December 9, 2019
“HMNZS Wellington is currently transitioning from Auckland to Whakatane to offer support.”
Police said the person who has been confirmed as dead was rescued from the island but they did not know if they were a New Zealander or not.
White Island, also known as Whakaari, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
Despite that, the privately-owned island is a tourist destination with frequent day tours and scenic flights available.
NEWS || An @NZAirForce Orion aircraft has flown over #WhiteIsland carrying out surveillance to assist in the emergency response following the eruption, & two NH90 helicopters have flown to Whakatane. Our @NZNavy's #HMNZSWellington is transiting to Whakatane to offer support.
— NZ Defence Force (@NZDefenceForce) December 9, 2019
PM confirms Australians are involved
Prime Minister Scott Morrison took to Twitter to confirm Australians are involved in the tragedy.
A terrible tragedy is unfolding in NZ after the volcano eruption on Whakaari/White Island. Australians have been caught up in this terrible event and we are working to determine their wellbeing.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) December 9, 2019
“A terrible tragedy is unfolding in NZ after the volcano eruption on Whakaari/White Island,” he said.
“Australians have been caught up in this terrible event and we are working to determine their wellbeing.
“I have been in touch with @jacindaardern to offer our full support with whatever they need and our authorities are working closely together.
“I will be staying in direct contact as events continue to unfold. We will provide updates once they are confirmed and are available.”
Whakaari is a popular tourist drawcard. About 50 people were on or near Whakaari when it exploded. “Some of those are unaccounted for” New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said.
That number is down from the 100 first feared to be in the area.
Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims confirmed at 4.40pm AEDT that one person had died.
“And based on information we have, there are likely to be more,” he said.
23 taken off island, others stranded
He said it was still too dangerous for police and rescue services to go onto the island, so it isn’t clear how many people remain on it.
He said 23 people have been taken from the island. “Some of these people have been transported to shore, however there is a number still remaining on the island who are currently unaccounted for,” Tims said.
“The island is currently covered in ash and volcanic material. We are taking expert advice with regards to the safety of any rescue attempt.”
Asked at the afternoon press conference is “27 people could be dead”, Ms Ardern replied: “You understand why we are loath to get into speculation”.
Of those transported to shore, at least one has been critically injured.
Several people suffering from injuries, including burns, are being treated in nearby Whakatane Hospital and Middlemore Hospital.
Emergency rescues
Families and friends have gathered at Whakatane wharf as those affected — some with critical injuries — are returned to the mainland.
Some of the people were seen exiting rescue helicopters are covered in ash.
Several helicopters and aircraft were seen in the area and survivors were pulled off the island in tour boats carrying tourists which had left the island ahead of the eruption, but returned to help some of the injured off.
“Emergency services are currently frantically trying to get these people back from the island to hospital for treatment,” Whakatane mayor Judy Turner told AFP.
Cruise ship fears
Australian diplomats in New Zealand are urgently trying to confirm the safety of Australians on the island.
“Australia’s High Commission in Wellington is making urgent inquiries with local authorities to ascertain if any Australians were affected by the eruption,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
Many of the visitors to the volcano on Monday are thought to be visitors from cruise ship the Ovation of the Seas which is berthed at the Port of Tauranga.
That ship departed Sydney on December 4. A spokeswoman from Royal Caribbean, which owns the ship, has confirmed “a number of our guests were touring the island today. We do not have any additional details to share at this time.”
“Ovation of the Seas will remain overnight until we learn more about the situation. We will offer all possible assistance to our guests and local authorities,” s spokesman said. “Please keep all those affected in your prayers.” she said.
Last photos: here are the White Island Tour operators rescuing people, timestamp 14:24 (~12-14 minutes after eruption). Endless gratitude to that crew for stepping up as first responders.
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019
I took these and reporters welcome to use with attribution. pic.twitter.com/ITmY1jCezr
The wait for the injured
Local reports suggest around 20 people were actually on the island when it erupted, and seven medical helicopters were dispatched.
footage of the #whiteisland #volcano eruption in #newzealand . Instagram user @allessandroKauffmann pic.twitter.com/tTpWecItD7
— Blue Wave 2020 (@aWaveOfBlue) December 9, 2019
“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,” Mayor Turner told Reuters.
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.
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019
The helicopters on the island looked destroyed: pic.twitter.com/jds5QBD1yg
“There were some injuries and focus is on getting these injured people back safely and to get them to a hospital.”
There are reports from local media that rescue helicopters are being used solely to transport blood for emergency infusions to treat survivors of the eruption.
It's grim. Westpac Rescue tells us its third chopper in Auckland is now tasked just with taking blood from Auckland Hospital to WhakÄtane #whakÄri #whiteisland
— Kim Baker Wilson (@kimbakerwilson) December 9, 2019
Camera shows tourists in crater just before explosion
Geological hazard trackers GeoNet had registered moderate volcanic unrest on the island for weeks, before the eruption began at 12.10pm AEDT — 2.10pm local time.
The White Island Crater Rim camera, held by GeoNet, showed a string of people visiting the crater at the time.
The cameras provide a live feed from the volcano showed more than half a dozen people walking inside the rim at 2.10pm local time. The images went dark when the eruption occurred minutes later.
Subsequent shots from the camera, displayed online every 10 minutes, show the blast rendered the camera inoperable.
Tour operator’s post
A man whose Facebook profile says he works at White Island Tours, has posted a photo of the island erupting, saying “White Island just erupted as we left, we have our work mates and a tour still on the island, I hope they OK.”
Calvin Kingi later updated that the he was on was heading back to the island: “We have people in critical condition [to] help.”
‘Five made it back’
The country’s National Emergency Management Agency described the eruption as “moderate”, although a thick plume of white ash could be seen for kilometres.
At least one group, four tourists and one pilot, who flew to the island on a Volcanic Air helicopter were accounted for, despite landing shortly before the eruption.
“It had landed on the island. What happened after that we don’t know, but we know that all five made it back to Whakatane on one of the tourist boats,” a company spokesman told AFP.
Chance of second eruption
Whakaari is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, and frequently visited by tourists.
GeoNet had registered moderate volcanic unrest on the island for weeks, before Monday afternoon’s eruption.
Dr Ken Gledhill from GNS science told an afternoon news conference the eruption “was not a particularly big eruption … it was almost like a throat-clearing eruption.”
He says it is unlikely, but possible, there could be secondary eruptions.
“It showed increased activity for the last few weeks, so we raised the alert level. But it looks like mostly, there will be an eruption like this, then a moment of quiescence.
“But we can’t be certain there wont be another eruption in the next 24 hours.”
Aviation meteorologists have issued an ‘orange’ volcanic ash advisory, which reflects the potential to affect nearby flights.
By 3pm AEDT, GeoNet had reduced the alert level from four to three, noting a “steady decline in activity since the eruption”.
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.
PREVIOUS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN NZ
1914 – The White Island volcano’s last fatal eruption kills 10 sulphur miners August
1938 – The White Island volcano erupts in the Bay of Plenty off North Island
1953 – An eruption at Mount Ruapehu on North Island wrecks a railway bridge just before the arrival of a Wellington-Auckland express train, plunging it into a river and killing more than 150
February 20, 1992 – The White Island volcano, then termed New Zealand’s most active, spews a huge column of grey ash as scientists prepare to venture into its crater on a routine study
September-October 1995 – Mount Ruapehu erupts in several bursts, sending clouds of ash 10,000m into the air. Three volcanic peaks in the central part of the North Island, Mount Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongariro, form the southern tip of the Pacific Rim of Fire, an arc of active volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean
June-July 1996 – Mount Ruapehu erupts, belching glowing car-sized boulders and disrupting air traffic
March 2006 – Volcanic eruption on remote Raoul Island, part of a nature reserve in the Kermadec group, causes plume of steam and ash, besides spewing mud from a lake The island is 1000km northeast of New Zealand
March 18, 2007 – The volcanic crater lake at Mt Ruapehu bursts its banks, sending a mudflow toward the rural community of Tangiwai
August 2012 – Mt Tongariro, dormant for more than a century, spews boulders and spreads an ash cloud as it explodes with bright flashes and thunderous booms.
— with wires
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