New Zealand volcano eruption kills 5, others still missing

WELLINGTON－A volcano on a small New Zealand island frequented by tourists erupted with a large plume of ash and steam at 2:11 pm local time on Monday, killing at least five people, injuring up to 20 and leaving others missing.

The volcano erupted on White Island, about 50 kilometers offshore from mainland New Zealand.

Police said they did not expect to find any more survivors.

"No signs of life have been seen at any point," the police said in a statement after rescue helicopters and other aircraft had carried out a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island following the eruption on Monday afternoon.

Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said the number of missing was in the double digits but he couldn't confirm an exact number. He said there were fewer than 50 people on the island when it erupted.

He said both New Zealanders and overseas tourists were among those who were dead, missing or injured.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was traveling to the region late on Monday.

Ardern said at a Monday afternoon news briefing that people injured by the eruption were being moved to the mainland. She said the incident appeared to be "very significant".

"All our thoughts are with those affected," she said.

"My god," wrote Michael Schade on Twitter as he posted video of the eruption. "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."

His video showed a wall of ash and steam around the island and badly damaged helicopters covered in ash. He said one woman was badly injured but seemed "strong" by the end.

Brad Scott, a volcanologist with New Zealand geoscience institute GNS Science, said the eruption was significant and had sent a plume of steam and ash about 3,660 meters into the air. He said it had also affected the whole of the White Island crater floor.

GNS affiliate GeoNet, a website and provider of geological hazard information, first raised its volcanic alert level to 4, on a scale where 5 represents a potential "major volcanic eruption". It later dropped the alert level back down to 3, representing a potential "minor" eruption. Scott said that was because the eruption wasn't sustained beyond the initial blast.

GeoNet had raised the alert level from White Island from 1 to 2 on Nov 18, noting an increase in the amount of sulfur dioxide gas coming from the volcano. The gas originates from magma deep in a volcano.

The website also reported at the time that over the previous weeks, White Island's volcanic tremors had increased from weak to moderate strength.

Scott said the alert level was often raised and then later dropped without any eruption. He said there hadn't been any major incidents with tourists visiting the island in the past, although there had been some close calls.