Passengers on RCL’s Ovation of the Seas who signed up for the excursion to White Island were promised “an unforgettable guided tour of New Zealand’s most active volcano. In fact, White Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. … Gas masks/breathing apparatus helps you get up close to roaring steam vents, bubbling pits of mud, hot volcanic streams and the amazing lake of steaming acid.”
Tragically, White Island lived up to its designation as a highly active volcano when it erupted today, at 2.11pm local time, 48km off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, in the North Island. Fewer than 50 people were on the island at the time. 30-38 were believed to be on an excursion from the cruise ship. Five are known to be dead. 23 people were immediately evacuated after the eruption. All those rescued had burn injuries.
More than 20 are still unaccounted and feared dead. Rescue helicopters and other aircraft carried out aerial reconnaissance flights over the island and reported no signs of life. A statement from local police says, “Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.”
Daily Beast reports: The active volcano encompasses all of the tiny privately owned island about 30 miles from New Zealand’s North Island. It has been in a constant state of volcanic activity for more than 150,000 years. The last major eruption was in 2001, though the volcano has spewed spouts of dangerous steam from its vents in recent years. Despite the dangerous volcanic state, more than 10,000 adventure tourists visit the island each year, paying landing license to the island’s owners. The island also hosts a mobile research station but no residential accommodation, and tourists are warned of the potential for eruption and made to sign waivers regarding the potential danger they face on the live volcano, according to several websites offering volcano tours.
“White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,” Professor Emeritus Ray Cas, from Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment in Melbourne, Australia, told The Wall Street Journal. “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.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was heading to Whakatāne in the Bay of Plenty, which is the closest safe area to the disaster zone. She told reporters the situation was still “significant and evolving.”
— Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019