A volcano erupted on a small island frequented by visitors in New Zealand, killing at least five people and leaving others injured and missing. The eruption sent about a huge steam and ash plume into the sky around 2 pm (White Island local time). It’s a private island around 48 kilometers (30 miles) off the east coast of the country’s North Island, and over 10,000 people visit the volcano each year. The volcano is a major tourist attraction and drives people towards its magnificent and beautiful surroundings.
Police have confirmed that there were 47 people on the volcanic island at the time of the eruption. At least five were killed, and eight more were missing and presumed dead by Tuesday. Helicopter crews were able to land on White Island despite the danger and helped evacuate the dozens of survivors, some of them critically injured.
There were nine people from the U.S. among those on the island when the eruption struck, and two were among those hospitalized on Monday. The whereabouts and conditions of the seven others gourists remained unclear on Tuesday. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “no signs of life have been seen at any point.” The missing and injured included New Zealanders and tourists from the U.S., China, Australia, Britain and Malaysia, Ardern added.
Unsafe Retrieval
There are chances that the volcano
could erupt again within the next 24 hours, volcanologist said. Recovery
efforts have been hampered since the eruption on Monday afternoon, with police
describing the island as too dangerous. On Wednesday, geological hazard
monitoring group GeoNet said volcanic tremors had escalated on White Island,
which is also known as ‘Whakaari’.
“This
morning, we were hopeful we could recover bodies. However this has not been
possible due to conditions on the island,” Civil Defense Emergency
Management Director Sarah Stuart-Black said at a press conference Wednesday.
“Right now, the science tells us (the risk) is just too high.’’
Why no
warning was issued and why tourists were allowed?
The sudden eruption of New Zealand’s
most active volcano has raised questions over why tourists were allowed to
visit the site despite authorities being aware of an increase in volcanic activity.
“The alert levels, which range from zero to five were still pretty low and
experts who visit the island regularly have been monitoring it with various
remotely operated instruments,” Professor Richard Arculus, a volcanologist
with the Australian National University told Today. He said scientists had
noticed some increased activity, but nothing that alarmed them and if there had
been anything that caused concerns, they would have posted it, notifying tour
groups. “There are many of these “Ring of Fire” type
volcanoes that do erupt frequently,” Professor Arculus said.
“It’s
always an intrinsic risk because something out of the ordinary can happen – but
this particular event, without too much notice is not unknown and I think
everybody who visits these places should be aware that visiting this place is a
hazard to them. “Magma rising or water getting into the magma chamber
below the surface of the Earth can be an explosive combination and a failure of
the edifice, or failure of the crust then allows water to get into a hotter
part of the system which can lead to an eruption like the one we saw yesterday
– so there may be very little warning and it may be quite energetic.
The
threat of another eruption could hamper authorities’ ability to go to the island.
But it could also make it harder for them to find and repatriate the bodies of
those who are presumed dead. The death toll is rising as authorities are trying
to track down the bodies. The incident has come as a shocker for the families
of the tourists, who were trapped and are injured. A rescuer stated that ‘it
was like a scene from Chernobyl’ ( A popular Netflix series). The
volcanologists are trying to keep a track of any more seismic activities to
avoid another surprising eruption for the rescue time.
