After the volcanic eruption on a small island off the coast of New Zealand, eight people are still missing. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference in the coastal town of Whakatane on New Zealand's North Island that the missing persons are believed to be dead. The possible victims are New Zealanders and tourists from Australia, Great Britain, China, Malaysia and the USA.
Thirty-one people were treated in the hospital the day after the sudden eruption of the White Island volcano, police said. Earlier it had been confirmed that five people were killed.
According to a spokesman, the Foreign Office in Berlin has no knowledge that Germans are among the dead. But: "We have to assume that Germans are among the injured," said a spokesman. In the meantime, the police have set up a telephone number that can be used to obtain information on relatives from abroad (+64 9105 105).
3600 meter high ash cloud
The police in New Zealand suspect after the eruption of a volcano on the island White Island that there are no more survivors there.
According to previous information, at least five people were killed during the outbreak. More than 20 are still missing.
The eruption occurred at 14:11 local time (2:11 clock MEZ). At that time, several dozen tourists stayed on the island.
White Island is located about 50 kilometers from the coast of New Zealand's North Island. The volcano has been active again for several weeks. After the eruption, a 3600 meter high ash cloud rose.
The island just 50 kilometers off the coast is visited by about 10,000 tourists a year by boat. Ardern said that at the time of the volcanic eruption, two groups had been on the island. One group could have been brought to safety, the other had been too close to the erupting crater. There have been no signs of survivors during night reconnaissance flights, she said.
Survivors suffered some severe burns
The volcano, which is called by the Maori indigenous people Te Puia O Whakaari, "the dramatic volcano", broke out at 14.11 local time, police said in the early afternoon. Stones and ashes were thrown up to 3.6 kilometers high in the air.
By the evening, 23 people could be brought from the island. Five of them, according to police, but their serious injuries. Some of the 18 survivors also suffered severe burns.
The search for the missing persons was interrupted at dusk for security reasons. "The island is unstable, there is a danger of further eruptions," said Deputy Chief of Police John Tims. Therefore, it is too dangerous for police and rescue teams to enter the island for the time being.
REUTERS
Although the rescuers have no hopes to find the missing still alive, the New Zealand military wants to start another search at daybreak. The police are also trying to find out the exact number of deaths.
Video images of the eruption
Live images of the volcano showed that a group of visitors had been at the bottom of the crater just seconds before the eruption. More than half a dozen people ran inside the crater rim when the volcano suddenly erupted. Then the picture went dark.
The tourist Michael Schade, who was able to get away from the island just in time, published photos and videos of the ash-covered island and the huge ash cloud above the volcano crater in social networks. He also photographed tourists waiting to be rescued on the island's shore and a completely dirty, apparently broken helicopter.
Praying for them and their recovery. Woman my mom is tired.
The helicopters on the island were destroyed: pic.twitter.com/jds5QBD1yg
The company Volcanic Air announced that shortly before the outbreak one of their helicopters with four passengers and a pilot landed on the island. But they would have all survived and were brought by tourist boats in the city of Whakatane on the coast, said a company spokesman.
The volcano on White Island is New Zealand's most active volcano. The last outbreak was in 2016. The National Emergency Situations Authority rated the volcanic eruption on Monday as of medium strength.
