New Zealand - White Island volcano erupts, 19 dead, many injuries from cruise excursion, 9 Dec 2019 *charges*

[they'll get you]

Lillani Hopkins and her father Pastor Geoff Hopkins boarded their boat only minutes before the fatal blast.

The boat turned around and headed straight back to the island.


"It was then into survival mode and rescue mode, and my first instinct was to help," Lillani said.

The crew asked for help from any passengers with medical training, and Lillani and her father both volunteered their first aid skills.


https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/white-island-volcano-tourists-first-aid-injured-victims-speak/81b1e30a-44d4-41cb-8bf4-e7162d09df60

 

[JerseyGirl]

San Francisco Woman Missing After New Zealand Volcano Eruption

 

[Gardenista]

“New Zealand has ordered 19,000 sq ins (1.2 million sq cm) of skin from America to help victims of the volcano eruption on White Island.”

“A total of 29 patients have been admitted to hospital with burns in the wake of Monday's deadly eruption, and doctors say they urgently need more skin grafts.“

“Faced with an unprecedented number of burn victims and the unusual nature of the burns from toxic volcanic gases, surgeons are having to work quicker than usual.”

“It is predicted surgeons have 500 hours of operations to perform on patients in the days and months ahead of them.”

New Zealand orders skin from America to treat volcano patients | Daily Mail Online

Wow, I'm so happy we could help them. I wonder if they'll need any plastic surgeons to go over there to help with the grafting.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

OT/Related. DH and I were talking about the White Island tragedy last night and recalled this incident from 2006 during which the parents of a young couple whom we had met on a cruise in January, 2006 were killed in the horrific bus crash in Chile.

...The Chilean government and a Miami-based cruise line both distanced themselves from the small operator of the bus that crashed. Chilean officials said the bus was unregistered and not authorized to carry passengers. And Celebrity Cruises, owner of the ship the victims were traveling on, said that the bus tour operator was not affiliated with or approved by the line and that the reservations for the inland trip had been made independently...

Bus Plunge That Killed 12 in Chile Echoes in New York Area

 

[JerseyGirl]

Viator is still listing these excursion:

Shore Excursion - White Island Volcano Experience Cruise & Guided Exploration

White Island Volcano Helicopter Flight and Crater Tour from Tauranga

White Island Helicopter Flight and Volcano Walking Tour

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Volcano on New Zealand's White Island Erupts During Royal Caribbean Excursion | Cruise Law News

A volcano on New Zealand’s White Island erupted today while a couple of tour groups were visiting the location. One excursion was from the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas which was reportedly visiting the island.

Numerous news organizations report that around fifty people were visiting White Island when a volcano erupted on Monday afternoon (New Zealand time). Many of the visitors were present at the crater of the volcano shortly before it exploded. The blast reportedly injured a number of visitors and left many of them missing and unaccounted for.

Several news organization in New Zealand report that “many of those on the island were from a cruise ship visiting New Zealand, Ovation of the Seas . . . ”

 

[LadyL]

If not for the chopper pilot saving the living and confirming the dead we would all be wondering if someone was laying there alive.

I'm still wondering that.

 

[JerseyGirl]

A family from Chicago is listed as missing after a deadly volcano eruption in New Zealand this week

A mother and two sons from Chicago, along with the boys' Australian-born father, are among those unaccounted for after the eruption of a volcano on New Zealand’s White Island this week, authorities said.

Matthew Hollander, 13, Berend Hollander, 16, and their parents Martin Hollander, 48, and Barbara Hollander, 50, were touring the island when the volcano exploded Monday.

 

[TristanP]

Missing Newlyweds Found Suffering Severe Burns Following Desperate Search After Volcano Eruption

The missing American couple, whose families hadn’t heard from after the New Zealand volcano eruption, has been located.

Matt and Lauren Urey, two newlyweds from Virginia, were both airlifted to different hospitals to treat their burns.

This type of thing always gets me. They’re just married, so full of optimism and happiness looking forward to their new married life, and now everything has changed, irreversibly, forever. Any situation that’s life changing like this is horrible, of course, but when it happens to newlyweds it really gets me for some reason.

 

[TristanP]

Voice of reason, @Hatfield. I find it disturbing that people talk of suing before even knowing the full facts. This was a horrible tragedy which could only have been prevented had that island closed itself to visitors years ago. There may be nobody to sue as volcanic eruptions are notoriously difficult to predict so what happens then? However, those poor souls that don't have free healthcare will have huge medical bills to pay so I can see the attraction in wanting compensation, though I am fairly confident NZ will pay for most of it.

But please, we don't even have names or a body count or any witness testimonies yet. People need to stop talking about suing and compensation and dollars. It's completely vulgar in the grand scheme of death and pain and missing loved ones.

Vulgar is the right word. It always comes down to money it seems like. The volcanic island was available for tours because people were making money from it, and they were willing to take the risk. Now everyone wants to sue. These people all knowingly went to visit the site of an active volcano. Why is that the island owner’s fault? I can see legal action to make safety standards higher, but it really is depressing when it always just comes down to money. Money isn’t going to bring back the lives lost, no matter how much it is.

 

[watcher9]

This type of thing always gets me. They’re just married, so full of optimism and happiness looking forward to their new married life, and now everything has changed, irreversibly, forever. Any situation that’s life changing like this is horrible, of course, but when it happens to newlyweds it really gets me for some reason.

Another article on the newlywed couple.

American couple on honeymoon in New Zealand severely burned in volcano eruption

 

[human]

Vulgar is the right word. It always comes down to money it seems like. The volcanic island was available for tours because people were making money from it, and they were willing to take the risk. Now everyone wants to sue. These people all knowingly went to visit the site of an active volcano. Why is that the island owner’s fault? I can see legal action to make safety standards higher, but it really is depressing when it always just comes down to money. Money isn’t going to bring back the lives lost, no matter how much it is.

living in a cruise ship area, I can tell you tourists are seen as money.

Tourists deserve safety. The question is as to what the information is that was provided.

Tourists are often so unaware of risks.

If money is not threatened, nothing changes.

 

[Pi Thoughts]

So devastating, 9 Australians now confirmed as deceased....


Two more Australians have been confirmed dead following the devastating White Island volcano eruption in New Zealand, bringing the total number of Australians killed in the disaster to nine.

Seven Australians are still missing, including six who remain unaccounted for on the Red Cross missing persons list.

Berend Hollander, 16, and his brother Matthew Hollander, 13, were killed while visiting the site. The pair attended Knox Grammar School in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s north shore, where their father had also gone to school.
Two more Aussies confirmed dead in NZ

 

[they'll get you]

In New Zealand, everyone's covered by public indemnity insurance.

Key points:

• All victims of the White Island disaster will be eligible for compensation from NZ's public insurance body
• Critics of NZ's no-fault compensation scheme say it leads to more risk taking
• Proponents of the scheme say it improves continuity of care

That means both residents and visitors can apply for compensation if they suffer accidents while at work, on a holiday, or even in a major tragedy such as a terrorist incident or natural disaster.

Legally, this means anyone who suffers an injury on New Zealand soil does not have to take someone through the courts to prove they were at fault in order to obtain monetary compensation.

All they need to do is submit their claim to the country's public indemnity insurance provider, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), to receive compensation for their injuries — be they mental or physical
New Zealand's volcano victims are all eligible for state compensation. Here's how that works

 

[Pi Thoughts]

The heartbroken brother of a volcano victims has written to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern requesting to stage his own recovery operation of his sibling's body.
Heartbroken brother's desperate request to PM

 

[SouthAussie]

This type of thing always gets me. They’re just married, so full of optimism and happiness looking forward to their new married life, and now everything has changed, irreversibly, forever. Any situation that’s life changing like this is horrible, of course, but when it happens to newlyweds it really gets me for some reason.

The one that really gets to me is the little 5 year old boy from Sydney who is listed as 'missing'.

I feel so sad for them all ... but he has had the shortest life of them all. Probably was barely starting school.

 

[Hatfield]

So devastating, 9 Australians now confirmed as deceased....


Two more Australians have been confirmed dead following the devastating White Island volcano eruption in New Zealand, bringing the total number of Australians killed in the disaster to nine.

Seven Australians are still missing, including six who remain unaccounted for on the Red Cross missing persons list.

Berend Hollander, 16, and his brother Matthew Hollander, 13, were killed while visiting the site. The pair attended Knox Grammar School in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s north shore, where their father had also gone to school.
Two more Aussies confirmed dead in NZ

Gosh with the missing and with the confirmed dead now the totals are getting much worse.

 

[mickey2942]

Where is the issue of "personal responsibility" come in? Live volcanoes are not "Disneyworld" attractions. I would have never gone to visit a live volcano. That is something that you evacuate from...not visit.

The fact that a tour company was available for trips to this area was not surprising. People always want to push the envelope...in the end, they made a choice.

The same as people, usually men, who want to run with bulls...and they get gored...surprise....not.

 

[SouthAussie]

Geez ... I hope they are super careful. We don't need any dead heroes.


New Zealand police have said they plan to recover bodies from White Island - where a volcanic eruption killed at least eight people - on Friday morning.

The rescue mission will go ahead despite the risk of another eruption, police said.

At least eight people are thought to be on the island following the eruption on Monday morning. All are presumed dead.

Police said they were considering a "high-speed recovery" of the bodies.

GeoNet, New Zealand's geological hazard information site, said on Thursday there was a 50-60% chance of another eruption occurring within the next 24 hours.

But families of the victims were growing increasingly "desperate" for the bodies to be recovered, police said.

NZ police to recover volcano bodies on Friday

 

[SouthAussie]

Local Maori groups have placed a "rahui" over the waters around the volcano and the coastal stretch on the Bay of Plenty.

It is a traditional prohibition banning anyone except recovery teams from visiting the island or fishing nearby.

The rahui was placed on Tuesday morning and will be lifted only once the missing bodies are recovered.

The recovery mission might be accompanied by a tohunga from the tribe - an traditional expert to provide spiritual support.

Rahui are often placed on areas after deaths or accidents occur or to protect natural resources in a specific area. They are not legally binding but are commonly respected by New Zealanders.

NZ police to recover volcano bodies on Friday