Volcano erupts while tourists visit - 16th December 2019

Tourists visiting Whakaari (White Island) were near the crater when it erupted on Tuesday, killing 16 people.

Rescuers saved 23 tourists from New Zealand's most active volcano, although eight were still missing, presumed dead. The rescue was challenging due to ash falling from the eruption.

Two of the survivors have already died of their injuries while 20 are in intensive care.

The missing tourists' families desperately wanted their bodies to be rescued despite a 50-60% possibility of another eruption. Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner spoke of "living with a growing sense of desperation to bring home" the missing bodies.

Whakaari, a private island, is a popular tourist destination, which 10,000 people visit every year. On 3 December, New Zealand's geological hazard monitoring website, GeoNet, had warned that "eruptive activity is more likely than normal." However, it stated that "the current level of activity does not no direct hazard to visitors." The most recent eruption, in 2016, caused no injuries.

Whakaari, in the Bay of Plenty on the North Island, is an important spiritual site for the Ngati Awa tribe. Their people and expert knowledge formed part of the mission to recover the bodies. Maoris placed a 'rahui' around the area to protect it until the bodies had been recovered.

The New Zealand police proceeded with the recovery mission although there were risks from more eruptions, weather, wind and sea conditions. A police official admitted, "A lot of things have to go right for this to work." Eight New Zealand Defence Force specialists successfully recovered the bodies on Friday morning.

The survivors are being treated across the country by specialist burns surgeons. They estimate that the patients require 120 square metres of replacement skin. Some are still unidentified.