Free Republic

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Tuesday that eight people were missing and presumed dead a day after a volcano erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island, with at least five people confirmed dead and more than 30 injured. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters that aerial reconnaissance flights did not show any signs of life on the volcanic White Island after the eruption that spewed a plume of ash thousands of feet (m) into the air. “To those who have lost or are missing family and friends, we share in your unfathomable grief in...

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (PIX11)— New Zealand trucker Steven McCormack is either the luckiest or unluckiest person in the world, depending on one’s perspective. McCormack was working on his tractor trailer at a gas station in Whakatane, on the North Island’s east coast, when he slipped and fell, landing on a broken high pressure air valve.