This aerial photo shows White Island after its volcanic eruption in New Zealand on Monday.
Posted on 12/09/2019 8:30:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
At least five people are dead after an eruption on a volcanic island off the coast of New Zealand on Monday, local officials have confirmed.
New Zealand police say a number of people were injured and have been taken to an area hospital, but it remains too dangerous for emergency services to access the island and search for those missing.
Authorities believe fewer than 50 New Zealanders and international tourists were on or near White Island – about 30 miles off the coast of New Zealand's North Island – but the exact number of people unaccounted for is unclear.
"We are continuing to work as quickly as possible, through a number of channels of information, to confirm exact numbers of those involved, including those who remain on the island," New Zealand Police said in a statement Monday.
The volcano erupted just after 2 p.m. local time on Monday, according to The Guardian, which reports 23 people have been rescued. It also reports:
"'No signs of life have been seen at any point,' police said 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 believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
What constitutes a tourist destination these days doesn’t seem like a place I would want to go.
Not sure, but do not think NPR needs to be excerpted
Was the eruption the result of man made pollution? Idiot minds wanna know!
Orange Man Bad is responsible.
Why do people go to Hawaii? Same thing. Hawaii is absolutely a bunch of active volcanoes.
Yeah, but they don’t tend to blow up ... they just spew lava.
“Tend to.”
It’s still an active volcano and could have a bad day. Mount Vesuvius “just spewed lava” from 1913 through 1944. Then it had a explosive eruption in 1944.
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@Truth29, that was my first thought when I heard it on the news during my morning drive. I blurted back at my radio “yeah, how much is New Zealand going to pay to offset all that carbon (and methane, etc)?
Good point.
Video here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/09/new-zealand-volcano-people-unaccounted-eruption-white-island/
So far, so good.
I saw last night that 10 minutes before the eruption some saw people on the island on the webcam feed..guess they were correct
Note the helicopter, can't fly due to ash.
Active volcanoes are on my “do not go there” list.
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