The Eruption of White Island (Whakaari) Volcano: 47 Trapped Tourists
When I watched Rory Kennedy’s Netflix documentary Volcano: Escape From Whakaari a few months ago, I was flabbergasted for multiple reasons. First, I couldn’t believe how devastating this story unfolding on screen was and secondly, I could not believe that I’d never heard of it. It happened in 2019, I was watching it in 2022—how did I not know about Whakaari? Twenty-two lives lost in a major disaster in modern times and I’d never heard a whisper? That in itself was shocking to me!
I am not sure what my excuse is. Maybe it’s that I had surgery on my wrist the very same week in December 2019 that Whakaari erupted, and then got swept up in the holidays and just missed the story. Maybe the overwhelming news of coronavirus, as we called it then, caused it to drop quickly from the headlines. Or maybe my American news sources didn’t cover New Zealand so much. Again, I am not sure, but I am glad I know the story now. It’s a hard one, an awful one, but one that needs to be told to honor those who lost their lives and those who still survive and recover to this day.
Whakaari Is Also Called White Island
If you listened to the podcast episode I did on Whakaari before reading this (which is what I’d prefer – go listen!!) then you will know that the indigenous New Zealanders are the Maori people, and that their name for the smoking island volcano is Whakaari. The English-language name is White Island, and the main business in this terrible tale is White Island Tours, a company that led adventure-tourism excursions out to the active volcano. It’s a full 90-minute boat ride out to Whakaari, so you gotta really be motivated to see it to endure that. But everyone in the documentary describes it as breathtaking, and you can see plenty of pre-eruption photos on Flickr that prove that true, like this one from iTravel NZ on flickr.
No One Expected Danger the Day Whakaari Erupted
Three boats full of tourists and one helicopter tour ventured out to White Island on December 9, 2019. One boat from White Island Tours was in and out before the eruption, one left right before it and was still very nearby during the eruption, and the last boat (+ a helicopter tour with 5 people) was still on the island, leaving 47 people with no defenses against Whakaari’s super heated blast cloud full of ash and rock. Though the volcano’s warning level was a 2 out of 3, no one with White Island Tours expected any problems. The eruption came without warning and as a complete shock. The 47 people on top of its volcanic cone had no time to react, and nowhere to run. Of the group of about 20 people that was at the volcanic crater when the eruption happened, only a couple survived. The group that was on their way back to the jetty at the volcano’s edge fared better, but they were all still horribly burnt.
The Only Help Came From Local Heroes
As soon as they realized Whakaari had erupted, local helicopter tour pilots from Volcanic Air and Kahu sprung into action and made it to Whakaari within about an hour. Their plan was to provide aid and triage until the airborne ER helicopters arrived from Auckland, but they soon learned that no help was coming. The officlal help had been ordered to stay away by officials because they felt there was too much danger of another eruption. So the hero tourism helicopter pilots made the decision to get out as many people as they could, and they did. They took badly injured tourists from the area of the volcano’s crater and got them to Whakatane, the nearest town, for help. Sadly, 10 of the 12 they rescued passed away, but there are two people alive today who would not be if those pilots had not gone the distance. They are true heroes!
Speaking of heroes, the passengers and crew of the boat that had just left the island, the Phoenix, turned right back around as soon as the eruption was over and rescued as many people as they could from the island’s edge. They transported a couple dozen badly burned fellow tourists on a grueling 90-minute boat ride back to land, and provided the best first aid that they could along the way. They are also true heroes who saved many lives that day.
Whakaari Is Closed to Foot Traffic To This Day
Though White Island Tours had an impeccable safety record before this tragic eruption, as of now, nearly 4 years later, no tourists are allowed on Whakaari. Frankly, you couldn’t pay me to go there, so I’m cool with that, but I do worry about the town of Whakatane as adventure tourism was their main business. Nevertheless, I just can’t see it being worth the risk to conduct tours of the island anymore. Scientists, geologists, sure. That’s a professional hazard. But just for fun? No way!
I do hope you will listen to my episode on this terrible disaster because I honor those who lost their lives and also tell some incredible, incredible survivor stories that are super inspiring. I enjoyed learning so much about New Zealand and its people, too. I hope you will listen in and let me know what you think! Until next time….
Here are the resources I used to research this episode:
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a42295664/whakaari-volcano-victims-survivors/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/15/white-island-volcano-what-we-know-about-the-victims
Documentary:The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
Documentary: Real Stories: The 2019 White Island Eruption
Documentary: 60 Minutes Australia: The White Island Disaster
