A volcano has erupted in New Zealand, leaving five dead and several unaccounted for, police have said.
Tourists were seen walking inside the crater of White Island volcano just moments before the eruption.
Police said 23 people had been rescued, but warned conditions were hampering the operation. The New Zealand military is now helping police.
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.
In a police briefing, Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims said due to the risks, emergency services were not able to access the island.
Therefore how many people remain there is unclear, but he added that “both New Zealand and overseas tourists” were believed to be involved. Police had previously said fewer than 50 people were on the island.
He said the five people who died were “rescued from the island earlier that day”.
An horrific experience for those caught out in this event …
I have just been reading about this and understand there have been warnings for a few weeks now that there was a chance of it erupting.
I read that the volcano was mostly under the sea, no wonder the tourists were able to stand in the crater.
I hope the conditions improve enough for them to rescue the remaining people.
It makes you wonder if bucket lists are a good idea.
I wonder what Greta Thunberg thinks about all this CO2 and other greenhouse gasses that are being released in huge amounts into the atmosphere, she must be beside herself…
There are currently 1500 other active volcanoes doing the same thing around the world, and those are just on dry land…Add to this the 500 or so that are bubbling away on the ocean floors…And people are allowing their engines to switch off while waiting at the lights…That should offset things…
[CENTER]How many active volcanoes are there on Earth?[/CENTER]
[I]There are about 1,500 active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,500 volcanoes are erupting today . Many of those are located along the Pacific Rim in what is known as the “Ring of Fire.” In the United States, volcanoes in the Cascade Range and Alaska (Aleutian volcanic chain) are part of the Ring, while Hawaiian volcanoes form over a ‘hot spot’ near the center of the Ring.
There are 169 potentially active volcanoes in the United States.
Good sources for information about volcanoes outside the United States include Oregon State University’s Volcano World and the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. [/I]
To our Kiwi mates. You expressed your concern about our bushfires. Please accept ours for this. I can’t think of what to say except that I hope the best for everybody.
Poor people… actually I really question the safety of volcano tourism generally… I was at Mount Etna on Sicily earlier this year, whilst we were there we heard a massive underground explosion and the earth shook. I asked at a local restaurant about it and was told it happens all the time… surely that cannot be right? Amazingly new houses are being built on old lava flows too its like the locals are oblivious to the danger … I suppose though as someone else said money is king and places like Sicily depend so heavily on Tourism.
We also sailed by Stromboli at night… the sky was lit up and you could see flames jumping high into the sky… Stromboli has three active volcano’s no way would I set foot on that island
White Island has been a popular destination for tourists and locals for over 30 years. It is a continually active volcano the warning levels go up and down frequently . There was , despite a rise of one level little change to warrant closing the tours. The chances of being caught in an eruption were probably about the same as being struck by lightening. I would happily take that chance. Two of the people killed were tour operators.
Back in the 1930’s there was a sulphur mining business set up but a sudden eruption killed 10 workers whose bodies were never found.
So is volcano tourism as has been seen. How many people who want to visit a volcano are not aware of the facts? Surely they know there are risks? Sadly, this was one risk too far!
Yep Ciderman, had I visited that part of the world, visiting a volcano would have been compulsory for me whatever the risk…I’m sorry for the people who were injured or lost their lives, but excitement and adrenaline sometimes involves risk. What would life be without the occasional risk?
