Whakaari/White Island eruptions: Injuries detailed by St John as 31 patients receive treatment

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

The people on Whakaari/White Island in hospitals around the country have burns, injuries from the blast, and airway issues, St John Ambulance says.

Central region operations support manager Stuart Cockburn spoke about the injuries on Tuesday morning, as the total number of deaths from the blast remains unknown.

Cockburn said the 31 people currently being treated at seven hospitals throughout the country had suffered mostly burns, blast injuries and airway issues associated with burning.

'Overnight we have moved multiple patients around New Zealand to various hospitals.'

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St John Ambulance transport those injured in the White Island volcanic eruption on Monday.

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Some patients were taken straight from the wharf to hospitals outside of Whakatane, while most were first take to Whakatane Hospital.

Middlemore, Auckland, Waikato, Hutt and Christchurch hospitals were caring for White Island patients, he said.

'This event will push the capacities of the hospitals that these patients have been sent to.

American newlyweds Lauren and Matthew Urey are understood to be in hospital with severe burns. Their condition is unknown.

'Whakatane Hospital did an outstanding job yesterday managing multiple critically injured patients.

'Many will be in the burns unit and intensive care.'

Three people have been discharged from hospitals. At least five people have been killed after Bay of Plenty volcano Whakaari/White Island erupted on Monday and eight are unaccounted for.

Tourism operators have said 47 people were on the island at the time of the blast.

University of Otago vulcanology lecturer Marco Brenna said he could only speculate, but the eruption around the crater lake near where visitors were standing would have sent ash and hot water flying.

Ash covers Whakaari/White Island after Monday's eruption.

'The people that were nearby were probably hit by water, rocks and flying items from the ash and boulders, and probably got scolded by acidic steam.'

The steam from the crater would have been hot, at least 50 degrees celsius, he said.

'There is water in the crater in the lake, and during the explosion, that would've been sent in to the sky as water, but also probably steam.'

The scale of the steam released from the volcano was clear in the pictures of the island during the explosion, Brenna said.

'If you look at the photos of the plume, the white will be water steam.'

Injuries from similar eruptions had been from flying debris, direct contact with acidic water, or inhalation of ash, he said.

University of Otago associate professor in occupational and environmental medicine David McBride said the blast would have likely released hydrogen sulphide.

Hydrogen sulphide, a respiratory irritant, could lead to respiratory distress syndrome, McBride said.

'They're really dangerous places, volcanic craters.'

White Island as seen from the air during the eruption which occurred as a tour party was visiting the volcanic island.

Monash University professor Ray Cas said sometimes the ejected material could have included fragments of fresh magma.

'In addition to the hot rock fragments of magma, large volumes of volcanic gas and superheated steam are released, which produce a hot plume of gas and rock that rises above the vent, sometimes to heights of thousands of metres.

'The temperatures of the erupting mass can be several hundred degrees celsius. Hazards include rock projectiles, noxious gases and burns from the hot gas cloud.'

A Waikato District Health Board (DHB) spokesman confirmed eight people remained in Waikato Hospital in a critical condition following the eruption.

A Capital and Coast DHB spokeswoman said four patients from the White Island incident had been transferred to the Hutt Valley DHB Regional Burns Unit.

Four people were in a critical condition at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

A spokeswoman said two of those patients were admitted yesterday, while the other two arrived this morning.