Thread: New Zealand volcano erupts: Tourists injured and others 'unaccounted for'

Q.E.D.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

And a little chilly too I'd imagine. Most probably went there in tees and shorts kinda garb.

Reports now that they doubt any survivors on the island.

New Zealand police said early on Tuesday morning local time that they did not believe there were any survivors on White Island following Monday’s eruption.

Just after midnight, officers said in a statement that after reconnaissance flights over the island, “no signs of life had been seen at any point”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/li...te-island-live

Originally Posted by taxexile

they are no different to the red light jumpers and helmetless motorcyclists that are splayed cross the roads and the selfie takers that fall off cliffs or waterfalls.


the bereaved can go into paroxysms of hand-wringing and chest beating, offer thoughts and prayers, hold vigils, light candles and perform all the rituals that bring succour to those who have suffered loss, but in the cold light of day, the fact remains that the victims were negligent and thoughtless and as a result paid a heavy price.

The victims (tourists) put their trust in a tour group company that they assumed wouldn't allow the tour to go ahead if there was any danger.

Originally Posted by Cujo

The victims (tourists) put their trust in a tour group company that they assumed wouldn't allow the tour to go ahead if there was any danger.

That would be my expectation, too.

Especially if they were leading the way into said crater.

'No signs of life' - 5 dead, fears for up to 24 others

10 Dec, 2019 5:07am
No signs of life, unlikely survivors are left, police say

Police say there are 'no signs of life' on White Island and they believe anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of Monday's evacuation.

Five people have been confirmed dead and there are fears for as many as two dozen others - many of them from a visiting cruise ship - following the instant eruption of the island volcano at 2.11pm.

"The Police Eagle helicopter, rescue helicopter, and NZDF aircraft have undertaken a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island since the eruption," police said in a statement early Tuesday.

"No signs of life have been seen at any point.

"Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation.

"Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island."

"As part of the recovery a NZDF ship will approach the perimeter of the island at first light to deploy drones and observational equipment to further assess the environment."

Police have not confirmed nationalities, but there are fears for up to 24 Australians and at least three Brits.



White Island aerial view after the volcanic eruption Bay of Plenty Times photograph by George Novak 09 December 2019

‘NO ONE HAS SURVIVED’: Cops launch criminal inquiry into NZ deaths

live New Zealand Police have launched an investigation to see if anyone was “criminally responsible” for the deaths and injuries in the White Island eruption.

Volcano did not seem like it was about to erupt: New Zealand expert

Tourists on a boat look at the eruption of the volcano on White Island, New Zealand, on December 9. Michael Schade/AP
There were no indications that the White Island volcano was about to erupt shortly before it killed at least five people on Monday, said vulcanologist Graham Leonard with New Zealand's Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences.
According to CNN-affiliate Radio New Zealand, Leonard told reporters today that while White Island is the country's most active cone volcano there was no signs it was especially dangerous on the day of the deadly eruption.
He said it appeared as if the volcano had just erupted suddenly with no precursor signs from seismic monitoring data -- which he said was typical for eruptions of mainly steam and hot water.
Leonard said there was still steam and mud jetting out from the active vent area.














1 hr 18 min ago

I'm sure the ship's purser, who sold them the tickets said, "All was well, no risk, we come here every voyage and haven't lost a soul yet", "My wife went ashore last week."

Originally Posted by aging one

He said it appeared as if the volcano had just erupted suddenly with no precursor signs from seismic monitoring data -- which he said was typical for eruptions of mainly steam and hot water.

Maybe it's time to close Yellowstone.

no need to actually go to the island, google maps street view has already been there and will take you right up to the lake and the steaming vents.

BBCWS News reported five dead and the presumption that there are eight bodies on the island that it is not yet safe to retrieve.

Originally Posted by taxexile

no need to actually go to the island, google maps street view has already been there and will take you right up to the lake and the steaming vents.

Yeah let's never leave the house. We can see everything on the internet.

Originally Posted by armstrong

Yeah let's never leave the house. We can see everything on the internet.

Its the climate change future.

Yeah let's never leave the house.

when i leave the house i like to be confident in the fact that i can return to it as and when i please, without 3rd degree burns, with all 4 limbs intact, and if at all possible, not in a hearse.

thats why i havent taken any selfies atop slippery waterfalls, swam in the seas off phuket in the rainy season, skied down mount everest or trekked to get a closer look at volcanic vents spewing forth superheated steam and sulphur dioxide in the crater of an active volcano in order to post "look at me" photos on instagram.

Originally Posted by taxexile

when i leave the house i like to be confident in the fact that i can return to it as and when i please, without 3rd degree burns, with all 4 limbs intact, and if at all possible, not in a hearse.

thats why i havent taken any selfies atop slippery waterfalls, swam in the seas off phuket in the rainy season, skied down mount everest or trekked to get a closer look at volcanic vents spewing forth superheated steam and sulphur dioxide in the crater of an active volcano in order to post "look at me" photos on instagram.

OK so you're a miserable c u n t who likes to play it safe and sneer "I told you so".

We get it.

We get it.

you never get it.

^^He seems to get his jollies from staying at home at indulging in schadenfreude on the internets.

To be fair, level 2 is pretty fooking serious. A level 1 warning is bad enough and not really the sort of place to take a bunch of tourists. Scientists maybe but not tourists.

Mount Etna would probably have been at level 0 when I climbed it back in the eighties. There were some pretty hot places close to the snow line but not a chance of erupting...it blew up the following week and took the ski resorts with it...

No fun without danger and no life if you live too dangerously...

Wonder if anyone managed to get a last selfie.?

Troy agreed. There is no safe thing as an active volcano, the science whilst fairly accurate isn't obviously foolproof and anyone who ventures there should know its not risk free, no such thing.

All the same RIP to those who died and there's survivors with life changing injuries who face a lifetime of living with them and you have to feel for them.

I shouldn't listen to World Service.

Apparently they've ordered 120 sqm of SKIN.

Where the fuck do you buy that?

Originally Posted by taxexile

when i leave the house i like to be confident in the fact that i can return to it as and when i please, without 3rd degree burns, with all 4 limbs intact, and if at all possible, not in a hearse.

thats why i havent taken any selfies atop slippery waterfalls, swam in the seas off phuket in the rainy season, skied down mount everest or trekked to get a closer look at volcanic vents spewing forth superheated steam and sulphur dioxide in the crater of an active volcano in order to post "look at me" photos on instagram.

Have you crossed the road in Thailand?

WHAKATANE/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Police in New Zealand are planning a mission to volcanic White Island on Friday to retrieve bodies of people killed in this week’s eruption, while the known death toll from the disaster climbed to eight, with two people dying in hospital.

Eight more people are missing and presumed dead, buried under ash and debris from Monday’s eruption. More than 20 people are in hospital, many with severe burns, while seven others have been transferred to burns units in Australia.

“I can now confirm that we are finalizing a plan to recover the bodies from Whakaari/ White Island tomorrow morning,” police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said in a statement on Thursday, adding families will be briefed on the operation.

Another police officer, Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement, later told a news conference the mission was risky and that a team would deploy at first light on Friday.

Six bodies could be seen and there would be “very limited” opportunity to search for the other two, he said.

“A lot has to go right for this to work,” Clement said.

The volcano on White Island was “highly volatile” and could erupt again within days, said authorities.

There are no signs of life on the uninhabited island.

“We are now living with a growing sense of desperation to bring home those that we know are there and those we love,” said Judy Turner, the mayor of Whakatane, the nearest town on the mainland. “The frustration of those families most affected is completely understandable. No news is not good news for people in this situation.”

The volcano, a popular tourist destination for day-trips, erupted on Monday, spewing ash and steam over the island.

There were 47 people on the island, also known by its Maori name Whakaari, at the time of the eruption. Twenty-four of those were from Australia, nine from the United States, five from New Zealand, four from Germany, two each from China and Britain and one from Malaysia.

Graham Leonard, a senior scientist at New Zealand’s geological science agency GNS Science, said monitoring equipment still active on the island put the risk of a further eruption over the next 24 hours at 50% to 60%, up from 40% to 60% on Wednesday.

“Today is less safe than yesterday and the day before,” he said.

In the event of another eruption, anybody on the island could be “pummeled to death” by flying rocks or overcome by ash and gases in temperatures exceeding hundreds of degrees Celsius, said GNS Science volcanologist Nico Fournier.

Clement said earlier the risk of both another eruption and toxic gases were simply too great on Thursday to expose recovery teams, although the situation was being constantly reviewed.

Many of the injured are being treated for severe burns, and medical officials are importing some 1.2 million square cm (186,000 square inches) of skin. The amount of skin needed equates to about 60 donors. In New Zealand, only five to 10 people donate skin each year, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Teams of surgeons in several burns units around the country were working around the clock.
“What we faced on Monday was beyond comprehension,” Dr Heike Hundemer, clinical leader at Whakatane hospital, said at a media conference on Wednesday.

“I’ve worked in major centers in Germany as well as in New Zealand. I’ve never seen this number of critically injured patients coming into an emergency department in a short space of time,” said Hundemer.

“We used every single bedspace, every single resource we had to care for those people. Those patients we treated and comforted will forever stay in our minds.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 12 Australians would be taken back home for treatment. One citizen would remain in a New Zealand hospital.

Morrison said 11 Australians had died, a figure that is believed to be drawn from the 16 people officially listed dead and missing by New Zealand. Further, he said two permanent residents of Australia had died, one was missing and a fourth was hospitalized.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said there will be an inquiry into the tragedy, which will also look more broadly at issues including access to volcanic sites across New Zealand.

Daily tours bring more than 10,000 visitors to privately owned White Island every year, marketed as “the world’s most accessible active marine volcano”.

Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) cruise lines has said that passengers from its ship ‘Ovation of the Seas’ were on the island at the time. It said it grieved “this tragic loss” and would continue to offer support and services to affected families.

The ‘Ovation of the Seas’ docked in Wellington on Thursday.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-volcano/new-zealand-volcano-toll-seen-at-16-police-plan-to-recover-bodies-on-friday-idUKKBN1YF2M5

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

^^He seems to get his jollies from staying at home at indulging in schadenfreude on the internets.

Wouldn't have been a good day to nick the disabled parking spot.