What we know so far

• Five people have been confirmed killed, a figure that is expected to rise, after a volcanic eruption on New Zealand’s Whakaari / White Island.
• A double-digit number of people remain on the island, according to deputy commissioner John Timms of New Zealand police, although the exact number remains unknown.
• Tims told a briefing that police and rescue crews have still not been able to access to island, after advice from volcano experts. “The physical environment is unsafe for us to return to the island”.
• A number of people have been taken to hospital, some with burns as a result of the eruption.
• Photographs in the aftermath of the eruption appear to show a wrecked helicopter on the island.
• Fewer than 50 people were on the island at the time of the eruption, and 23 have been taken off.
• 30 to 38 of those people were passengers on the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, as confirmed by the CEO of the New Zealand Cruise Association.
• The eruption occurred about 2:11pm local time, 48km off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, on the north island.
• Whakaari / White Island is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, and is a popular tourist destination and scientific research site. It last experienced a short-lived eruption in 2016.