New Zealand's prime minister says overnight reconnaissance flights have failed to find signs of life after a volcano erupted off the country's coast, killing six people. Eight missing people are believed dead.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would investigate the incident. She told a press conference that aerial reconnaissance flights overnight had not found any survivors.
Unstable conditions on the island were hampering rescue efforts and authorities were assessing whether to send a recovery mission to remove bodies.
"We share in your unfathomable grief in this moment in time," Ardern told victims' families. "The focus this morning is on recovery and ensuring police can do that safely."
Recovery mission
A total of 47 people were on the island when the volcano erupted on Monday afternoon, sending plumes of ash thousands of meters into the air. Five people died on the island, while a sixth died later in hospital. More than 30 people suffered injuries.
The government said 27 of the injured suffered greater than 71% body surface burns and that it was possible not all would survive.
Among the injured and missing were 24 people from Australia, nine from the US, four from Germany, two each from China and Britain, one from Malaysia, as well as five from New Zealand.
Separately, police announced they would open an investigation into the deaths of tourists on the island in order to assist the coroner. Read more: Mount Etna erupts, spews lava chunks
New Zealand volcano eruption — in pictures
A volcano on New Zealand's White Island erupted on Monday sending a large plume of smoke into the sky over the popular tourist destination.
Image: Michael Schade/Twitter@sch
Last-second escape
Tourist Michael Schade wrote on Twitter as he posted video of the eruption that his "family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable.''
Image: Michael Schade/Twitter@sch
Whakaari smoke billows
Massive clouds of smoke and debris billow from New Zealand's White Island (also known as Whakaari) in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. It's a destination that's popular with tourists because of its unusual, moon-like surface.
Image: Reuters/@Donnacha
Aerial view of hikers
This aerial view shows a group of tourists at the crater's rim before it erupted. About 10,000 people visit the volcano every year. It was unclear whether the group was alerted to flee or was continuing a tour, unaware of the looming danger.
Image: Reuters/GNS Science
Thick smoke
Thick clouds of ash, steam and debris spew from New Zealand's most active volcano cone, 70% of which is underwater, according to New Zealand volcano agency GeoNet. It has erupted frequently over the last half-century, most recently in 2016.
Image: Reuters/SCH
Hospitalized
Injured tourists are ferried into waiting ambulances ready to transport them to several hospitals including Whakatane, Tauranga, Middlemore and Auckland City, following the eruption.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/NZME/K. Shanls
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Popular tourist attraction
White Island, known as Whakaari in the Maori language, is the peak of an active submarine volcano that lies some 50 kilometers (30 miles) off the coast of New Zealand's North Island. It draws around 10,000 visitors each year.
Volcano-monitoring agency GeoNet raised the alert level for White Island last month after detecting an increase in volcanic activity. Ardern said any questions about whether tourists should be visiting the area would be addressed once search and rescue efforts were concluded.
White Island is New Zealand's most active cone volcano. It last erupted in 2016, without causing injuries. The last fatal eruption was in 1914, when 12 people were killed.
Fire and ashes: Most troublesome volcanos of our time
In recent years, volcanic eruptions have claimed lives, destroyed homes, and left people stranded accross the world. DW looks at the top five troublemakers among volcanos today.
Image: Reuters/T. Sylvester
Remember Eyjafjallajökull?
The Icelandic volcano with a famously unpronounceable name erupted in 2010, throwing up a massive cloud of ash into the air and disrupting air traffic all across Europe and North Atlantic. A total of 100,000 flights were canceled within one week.
Image: AP
Mount Etna: Europe's biggest volcano
The snow-covered volcano in Sicily, Mount Etna, is both Europe's largest and its most active volcano. It has been continuously erupting for centuries with more or less intensity. At least 10 people were injured when Etna suddenly launched volcanic rocks and steam in 2017.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/S. Allegra
Trouble in Bali paradise
Indonesia's Mount Agung erupted in November 2017 and again in June 2018. Both eruptions prompted authorities to close down the airport in the tourist resort, effectively stranding thousands of visitors.
Image: Reuters/Antara Foto/N. Budhiana
Panic and death in Guatemala
The sudden eruption of Guatemala's Volcan de Fuego in June 2018 left hundreds dead or missing. The volcano also launched ash nearly six kilometers (four miles) into the sky, blanketing nearby villages.
Image: Reuters/L. Echeverria
Kilauea - the rage of Pele
Hawaii's ancient religion names the goddess Pele as the ruler of volcanoes and fire. One of the volcanoes under her command is Kilauea on Hawaii's Big Island, which has been erupting since 1983. The eruptions escalated in 2018, with walls of moving lava swallowing streets and destroying hundreds of homes.
