NZ volcano tragedy: Brazilian tourist captures eruption
Chilling vision has emerged of the precise moment Whakaari volcano erupted on Monday wtih devastating effect, killing at least eight people.
Chilling vision has emerged of the precise moment Whakaari volcano erupted on White Island on Monday with devastating effect, killing up to 16 people.
Wisps of steam can be seen ominously rising from the volcano’s crater, as Brazilian tourist Allessandro Kauffmann, who posted the footage on YouTube on Thursday, toured the island in the moments leading up to the tragedy, returning to his boat just five minutes before the deadly explosion.
“I’m a little bit worried about why it’s going green,” a tour guide can be heard saying as Mr Kauffmann and a crowd of tourists pass a stream of hissing water.
“This was caused by the magma chamber coming up close to the surface,” he said.
In the GoPro footage, Mr Kauffmann and his partner, Aline Moura, traverse the edge of the volcano while stepping over puddles of boiling water visibly bubbling and popping.
Mr Kauffmann was among the last tour group to visit the crater before it erupted. The guide explains how the springs around New Zealand’s most active volcano can reach temperatures of between 100C and 300C.
The sound cuts out as Mr Kauffman and his girlfriend walk back to the White Island tour boat and sit down alongside fellow tourists.
Seconds later, Mr Kauffmann swings the video back towards the volcano, and the sound of distant chatter from the boat’s passengers turns to screams of horror.
Mr Kauffmann captures the moment the volcano blew its top shortly after 2pm on Monday, sending plumes of smoke billowing into the picturesque blue sky above the Bay of Plenty.
A panicked tour operator yells for passengers to “get to the other side” of the boat.
“Everybody, please, go on to the other side of the boat now, go now,” he says.
“Wrong side, wrong side, please move back.” A stunned woman with a thick American accent can be heard reacting in disbelief to the explosion.
“Man, that’s terrifying,” she says, her voice audibly shaking. An Australian woman can be heard telling another passenger “don’t tell Mum about this”, while a man urges the boat to move faster: “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
The sound on Mr Kauffmann’s video briefly cuts out as clouds of ash shoot into the sky, blocking his screen and obscuring the sun.
Another man repeatedly whispers “Jesus”, as a woman asks if he thinks they are safe.
“Are we going to be OK?” she asks. “I don’t know, let’s just get out of here,” he replies.
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