Survivors of a powerful volcanic eruption in New Zealand ran into the sea to escape the scalding steam and ash and emerged covered in burns, say those who first helped them.
The accounts yesterday came as some relatives were forced to continue waiting for news of their loved ones, with authorities deciding it remained too dangerous for crews to land on the island and remove bodies.
Six deaths were confirmed after Monday’s eruption of the White Island volcano. Five people died at the time of the blast or soon after, while a sixth person died last night at an Auckland hospital.
Photo: AFP
Another eight people are believed to have died, with their bodies remaining on the island.
Experts said there was a 50 percent chance of another small eruption within a day and rescue teams did not want to take any chances.
Police said they planned to send drones to measure whether gas levels were safe.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The tragedy will have an ongoing effect on the town of Whakatane, which road signs tout as the gateway to White Island. As well as being an important tourist draw for the 20,000 people who live there, the volcano has an almost mystical significance, its regular puffing a feature of the landscape.
Whether the island would ever host tourists again remains uncertain after the tragedy that unfolded when the volcano exploded a little after 2pm on Monday.
Geoff Hopkins was in a boat offshore after visiting the island with his daughter, the tour a 50th birthday present for him. He told the New Zealand Herald the eruption at first looked beautiful, but quickly turned menacing.
As injured people were transported onto their boat screaming in pain, Hopkins and his daughter Lillani poured fresh water onto them, cut them out of their clothes and tried to keep them calm.
He told the Herald they were “horrifically” burned on their exposed skin and faces, even under their clothes.
Police believe there were 47 visitors on the island at the time. They said 24 were Australian, nine were American and five were New Zealanders. Others were from Germany, Britain, China and Malaysia. Many were passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.
About 30 of the survivors remained hospitalized, many flown to burn units around the country.
Many people were left questioning why tourists were still allowed to visit the island after seismic monitoring experts raised the volcano’s alert level last month.
“These questions must be asked and they must be answered,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in parliament.
New Zealand Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims yesterday said that police were opening a criminal investigation into the deaths that would accompany an investigation by health and safety regulators.
However, hours later, police put out a statement saying that while they were investigating the deaths on behalf of the coroner, “to correct an earlier statement, it is too early to confirm whether there will also be a criminal investigation.”
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