New Zealand volcanoNo More Survivors Expected after New Zealand Volcano Erupts

Five people were confirmed dead and eighteen others injured, with many more missing, after a volcano erupted on Monday afternoon while dozens of cruise ship passengers were exploring White Island, a small, picturesque, uninhabited island of the coast of New Zealand.

“Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation,” police said in a statement. “Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.”

The Washington Post reports that amassive plume of smoke and ash reached more than 12,000 feet into the air above the island, which is also known by the indigenous Maori name Whakaari.

The island has been a tourist attraction because in some parts its surface resembles the surface of the moon.

The five people who died were part of a group of twenty-three people rescued earlier from the island. 

A number of injured people were taken to hospital with burns, Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims told reporters late Monday evening.

It is not known how many people were trapped on the island, Tims said. Emergency crews cannot get on or near the island because a risk assessment by volcano experts deemed any approach too risky. 

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, confirmed some of those caught up in the blast were foreigners. 

“We know that there were a number of tourists on or around the island at the time, both New Zealanders and visitors from overseas.”

Australia’s Nine News reported 24 Australian citizens were on White Island when it erupted. 

“Twenty-three people have been rescued from the island including the one who died, leaving up to possibly 27 people currently on White Island,” Auckland-based journalist Carissa Paramita toldDW after the first fatality had been announced.

Many of the people touring the island at the time of the eruption were from the cruise liner Ovation of the Seas. The cruise liner docked near the island, and tourists were taken to the island on boats. The captain made an announcement to passengers that a group of guests and one crew member were on the island at the time of the eruption, reported the New Zealand Herald.  

“My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it,” Michael Schade told the New Zealand Herald.   

The prime minister ordered the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) to send military rescue equipment and personnel to assist in the emergency response.

“A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft has flown over White Island carrying out surveillance over the area, and two NH90 helicopters have flown to Whakatane to assist,” according to a NZDF statement.

“Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Wellington is currently transiting from Auckland to Whakatane to offer support.”

The country’s Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management advised people living near the affected area should consider staying indoors with windows and doors closed to limit the entry of volcanic ash. It said in a statement that the effects of the volcano can spread “many kilometers.”  

The New Zealand Red Cross activated the Family Links website for people to declare themselves safe or register an inquiry about a family member. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered emergency support to New Zealand authorities following reports that Australians were caught up in the blast.

The cruise liner, Ovation of the Seas, is a 16-deck cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises. It can accommodate about 5,000 passengers and has a crew of 1,500. It is docked at Tauranga on a cruise that began last week in Sydney.

White Island sits about thirty miles offshore from mainland New Zealand, and GeoNet says it is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, with about 70 percent of the volcano under the sea.