Over 20 Australians feared missing in New Zealand volcano disaster
Newlyweds, a family-of-four and six children are among over 20 Australian tourists feared missing after New Zealand’s volcano catastrophe – with death toll expected to rise above 30 as search teams find ‘no signs of life’
- More than 20 Australians have been reported missing in White Island eruption
- Five people were confirmed dead and dozens still unaccounted for as of Tuesday
- Among those listed as missing are a Sydney family and Brisbane newlyweds
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed 24 Australians were visiting the island
More than 20 Australians including a Sydney family-of-four and a newlywed couple are listed as missing by the New Zealand Red Cross in the wake of the deadly White Island volcano eruption.
Five people have been confirmed dead and dozens were still unaccounted for as of early Tuesday after the volcano exploded shortly after 2pm local time on Monday.
An estimated 50 tourists – from New Zealand and overseas – were on or around the crater, located off the coast of the North Island, at the time of the blast.
Eighteen survivors were evacuated – some suffering severe burns – leaving an estimated 27 people unaccounted for.
Police say the number of missing is in double figures – and that they do not expect to find any further survivors.
Names of those still unaccounted for have been listed by concerned family members on the Restoring Family Links website. The website is not an official missing persons list.
Newly-wed couple James, 23, and Madeleine Whitehouse, 24, from Brisbane, were listed as missing as of early Tuesday morning, according to a list compiled by concerned family members on the Red Cross website
Amy Miall, 30, from Brisbane, and partner Mathew Thomas (pictured) 31, from Tamsworth, are still unaccounted for
An estimated 50 tourists – from New Zealand and overseas – were on or around the crater, located off the coast of the North Island, at the time of the blast
Among the Australians listed as missing are North Sydney family-of-four, parents Anthony, 51, and Kristine Langford, and their two teenage children Jesse, 19, and Winona, 17.
Newlywed couple James, 23, and Madeleine Whitehouse, 24, from Brisbane, were also listed as missing as of early Tuesday morning.
According to social media, the couple had married last September and had been on holiday in New Zealand.
‘You fill my heart with joy every day James, and I’m so blessed to be your wife,’ Mrs Whitehouse wrote about her husband on their first wedding anniversary.
Other Australians on the missing list include Amy Miall, 30, from Brisbane, Mathew Thomas, 31, from Tamsworth, Richard Aaron Elzer, 32, and Jason Griffiths, 33, from Coffs Harbour, and Jane Murray, 56, from Sydney.
Among those listed as missing is North Sydney family of four, parents Anthony, 51, and Kristine Langford (pictured) and their two teenage children
Siblings Jesse Langford (left) 19, and Winona Langford, 17, were believed to be on holiday with their family
Jason Griffiths (pictured) 33, from Coffs Harbour, NSW, was listed as missing as of early Tuesday
A 12-year-old boy from Western Australia and seven-year-old the youngest still unaccounted for, according to the site.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed 24 Australians were visiting the island as part of a cruise ship tour group on Monday.
The Australian Federal Police are working with New Zealand counterparts to confirm information on the well-being of those involved, Mr Morrison said.
‘We have so far been able to identify a number of Australians who have been hospitalised and will we working further on this through the night,’ the prime minister said.
New Zealand officials said early Tuesday morning that ‘no signs of life have been seen at any point’, meaning the death toll could be as high as 32.
White Island, 48km from the Bay of Plenty region, began erupting about 2.11pm local time
Three Britons are believed to be among those still missing.
Speaking earlier on Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there were ‘a number of tourists’ from her country and overseas on the island at the time.
‘I know there will be a huge amount of anxiety for those who have loved ones on or around the island at the time. I can assure them police are doing everything they can,’ Ardern said.
Ardern and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare travelled to the nearby Whakatane on Monday night.
National Operation Commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims on Monday confirmed five people have died and multiple people were taken to hospital with burns, with the death toll expected to rise.
At least five people died in the eruption, 18 have been rescued with injuries – including severe burns – while an estimated 27 are still missing, with rescuers unable to get on to the island
Whakaari also known as White Island, 48km (29mi) located off New Zealand’s North Island, erupted around 2.11pm local time on Monday blowing huge plumes of smoke and debris 12,000 ft into the sky
‘I can confirm there are five people now deceased from the eruption on White Island,’ Mr Tims told reporters on Monday evening.
‘A number of other people have been taken to a hospital. A number of people have burns as a result of the eruption. It is still too early for police to confirm how many people are involved.’
Authorities are yet to confirm the nationalities of the victims or if there are still survivors because they had been unable to establish communication with anyone on the island on Monday.
‘There are possibilities of further eruptions. The physical environment is unsafe for us to return to the island. It is important that we consider the health and safety of those that are going to rescue those on the island. So we will be taking that advice,’ Mr Tims said.
‘A disaster waiting to happen’: Experts say tourist trips to White Island volcano were ‘too dangerous’
White Island was always ‘too dangerous’ for the number of tourists visiting the island, experts have said, as they warned of risks of further blasts and landslides.
Emeritus Professor Ray Cas, from Monash University, branded the island – also known by its Maori name Whakaari – ‘a disaster waiting to happen for many years’.
‘I have always felt that it was too dangerous to allow the daily tour groups that visit the uninhabited island volcano by boat and helicopter,’ he said.
In 1914, a small mining community on the island was wiped out after falling rocks weakened by the island’s volcanic activity swept through the village.
The violent volcanic eruption on New Zealand’s white Island was caused because ocean crust is being subducted (pictured, the series of events leading to the spontaneous eruption). This constant movement means sudden explosions can occur at any moment
Mining activity was subsequently banned and the island has been uninhabited now for more than a century, but is a hotspot for tourists hoping to get close to an active volcano.
Large volcanic events such as the White Island eruption can often cause subsequent disasters.
GeoNet, New Zealand’s geological hazard information centre, describes White Island as New Zealand’s most active cone volcano. Only the top is visible, with around 80 per cent of it underwater.
Rescuers have been unable to visit the island in the wake of the disaster in order to search for survivors and victims, saying it is still too dangerous.
Explaining the dangers, Chris Elders, professor of Geology at Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, told MailOnline: ‘This may be a combination of the ash in the atmosphere that would affect any helicopters.
‘Also, when you get an eruption like this, the ash deposits very quickly and creates rocks which are extremely unstable.
‘Any rainfall, which can be triggered by the ash sent into the atmosphere, could cause a landslide if the unstable rocks come loose.’
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed 24 Australians were visiting the island as part of a cruise ship tour group on Monday
White Island is New Zealand’s most active volcano and had seen its last major eruption in 2001, with smaller events over the years until now.
The island is frequently visited by tourists as part of organised boat tours from nearby Whakatane.
Geological hazard trackers GeoNet had registered moderate volcanic unrest on the island for weeks.
But the nature of volcano activity is unpredictable, with the eruption unforeseen by authorities.
A camera of the crater’s rim, run by monitoring agency GeoNet, set to take pictures every 10 minutes showed a string of people visiting the crater at 2.10pm.
The next shot taken, at 2.20pm, was unreadable as the blast had rendered the camera inoperable.
Passengers on board Australia’s biggest cruise liner caught up in New Zealand’s volcano tragedy describe the horror of watching the injured be brought back to the ship
Tourists on Australia’s biggest cruise ship are ‘grateful’ they decided to stay on board after passengers and crew members were caught up in New Zealand’s volcano tragedy.
At least five people died in the powerful eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, at 2.11pm local time on Monday when an estimated 50 tourists were on or around the volcano crater.
Eighteen survivors were evacuated – some suffering severe burns – leaving an estimated 27 people unaccounted for.
Australians were among the visitors on Whakaari from a nearby cruise ship, the Ovation of the Seas, which originated in Sydney.
Tourists on Australia’s biggest cruise ship – Ovation of the Seas (pictured) – are ‘grateful’ they decided to stay on board after passengers and crew members were caught up in New Zealand’s volcano tragedy
The vessel, which has 4579 passengers and 1595 crew on board, is docked in Tauranga, 90 kilometres from White Island.
Kasey Bebrouth, who lives in Ipswich, Queensland, wrote on Facebook she was safe on the cruise ship after choosing not to tour the island.
‘Okay so me and Marty are on the Ovation of the Seas and yes people have been hurt,’ she wrote.
‘The boat is staying overnight. At this point we are OK but very grateful that we stayed on the ship.
‘We thank everyone for their kind words and worries. We will post more when we know more, just know that we are safe.’
Her friend Stephen Irvine told News Corp he had been messaging the mother-of-one after the eruption and she said she saw injured passengers covered in ash being carried back to the boat.
‘The passengers have been offered counselling,’ Mr Irvine said.
Stephanie Wright, whose Facebook says she’s a lighting technician at Royal Caribbean International, also wrote a status about being safely docked at Tauranga.
Kasey Bebrouth, who lives in Ipswich, Queensland, wrote on Facebook she was safe on the cruise ship after choosing not to tour the island
Stephanie Wright, whose Facebook says she’s a lighting technician at Royal Caribbean International, also wrote a status about being safely docked at Tauranga
‘This is absolutely tragic. I’m on Ovation of the Seas,’ Ms Wright wrote.
‘We’re docked overnight in Tauranga hoping and waiting for news and the return of our crew and passengers.
‘Keep them in your thoughts and if you pray, hold them there too.’
The captain of the vessel announced one crew member and a group of passengers were on the island when the volcano erupted, New Zealand Herald reported.
Passenger Nigel Walker, from Wollongong, south of Sydney, extended his thoughts to those missing.
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying the ship would stay in the nearby port overnight ‘until we learn more about the situation’. The Ovation of the Seas is pictured docked in Auckland
‘It’s tragic… I was only saying to my mother-in-law before the cruise that White Island would be a great place to visit,’ he said.
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying the ship would stay in the nearby port overnight ‘until we learn more about the situation’.
The vessel, which embarked on a 12-day cruise from Sydney, was supposed to sail to Wellington on Monday evening before touring New Zealand’s South Island and returning to Circular Quay.
Michael Schade, a traveller from San Francisco, said his tour group was standing at the edge of the main crater less than 30 minutes before the blast.
Brazilian tourist Allessandro Kauffmann was on White Island moments before the eruption
Mr Kauffmann shared videos of the volcano erupt as his boat sailed to safety
‘My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘My 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.’
Mr Schade shared video footage of the destruction and some of the tourists who managed to escape onto his vessel.
Michael Schade, a traveller from San Francisco, said his tour group was standing at the edge of the main crater less than 30 minutes before the blast
The White Island Tour operators are seen during the rescue operation about 12 to 14 minutes after the eruption
Rescue services are seen evacuating a group of tourists in a dinghy
‘Praying for them and their recovery. Woman my mum tended to was in critical condition but seemed strong by the end.
‘My thoughts with the families of those currently unaccounted for, the people recovering now, and especially the rescue workers.’
Brazilian tourist Allessandro Kauffmann, who was on a tour to the island, shared a series of Instagram stories throughout the day and said he fled moments before the eruption.
‘Some people have extensive burns on their bodies. Two tours on the volcano. Ours was the first. The other one right after,’ he said after escaping.
Brazilian couple Allessandro Kauffmann and Aline Moura are pictured on their tour before the eruption (left). Speaking in a series of Instagram stories (right), the couple said their boat helped rescue people who suffered burns from the eruption
‘We left the island and wasn’t even five minutes before it erupted. This other tour that arrived after couldn’t leave in time.
‘We had to stay to help those people who were on the island. The boat from this other tour was covered in ash from the volcano.
‘Very tense talking about this. We just have to hope that all is as well as can be.’
His partner Aline Moura shared videos of the eruption to Instagram to recount her day.
New Zealand officials confirmed five people have died, while at least 20 are injured and more than 20 are missing
National Operation Commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims told reporters on Monday evening that it’s currently too dangerous to search for survivors
‘This was the end of today’s trip that I had. The beginning was excellent, lots of cool pictures, amazing experience,’ she wrote.
‘But nature is autonomous and man has no control over his will.
‘Surely we never forget that day. Let us pray that everyone will be fine.’
Speaking in a series of Instagram stories, the couple recalled how their boat helped rescue people who suffered burns from the eruption.
Police and emergency services haven’t been able to reach or make contact with those trapped by the blast.
National Operation Commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims told reporters on Monday evening that it’s currently too dangerous to search for survivors.
‘There are possibilities of further eruptions. The physical environment is unsafe for us to return to the island,’ he said.
‘It is important that we consider the health and safety of those that are going to rescue those on the island. So we will be taking that advice.’
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