White Island eruption: Emergency shelter was airlifted to Whakaari three years ago

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

An NH90 helicopter from the Royal New Zealand Air Force's 3 Squadron lifted a 2.4-tonne shipping container to the volcanic White Island.

A shipping container was installed on Whakaari/White Island three years ago, to provide visitors with an emergency shelter in case of an eruption.

At least six people are confirmed dead after the Bay of Plenty volcano erupted on Monday. A further eight people remain missing and are believed dead.

Although White Island has that emergency shelter, it's not clear whether anyone managed to get to it during Monday's eruption.

Police said they have seen no signs of life in reconnaissance flights, and they do not believe there are any more survivors on the island.

A NZ Defence Force NH90 helicopter delivered the shipping container to the island in 2016, on behalf of Emergency Management in Whakatāne.

An NH90 helicopter delivered the container to White Island in 2016.

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A view of Whakaari/ White Island from an NH90 helicopter.

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White Island Flights operations manager George Walker captured these images of White Island about two hours after the volcanic eruption.

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The New Zealand's Defence Force used a NH90 helicopter to airlift the emergency shelter to the island in 2016 on behalf of Emergency Management in Whakatāne.

Whaakari/White Island's eruption as seen from the plane of tourism operator White Island Flights.

The six-metre shipping container, which weighed 2.4 tonnes, was airlifted to the island from Whakatane Airport.

It was placed on an old mining site to provide a natural protective barrier in case of a volcanic eruption.

A NZDF media release from 2016 said the shipping container ensured people had a safe area to go to in the event of a volcanic eruption or an emergency event.

Stuff travel reporter Brook Sabin visited White Island earlier this year.

The release said the container would also be used to store safety gear, spare clothing, food supplies and emergency and rescue items.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was aware there was a bunker on the island.

However it's not clear whether anyone made it to the bunker or was inside. Ardern has told media the reconnaissance pilots were 'very clear' there were no signs of life on the island.

Whakaari/ White Island pictured following Monday's eruption.

Ardern said a pilot who landed on the island on Tuesday 'physically moved around the island rather than just an aerial survey and did so for some time, and brought back that report that unfortunately there was no sign of life.'

White Island Flights operations manager George Walker told Stuff he thought the shipping container had been put on the island about three years ago as a safety measure, but it was about 400 to 500 metres from the lake to get to it.

'It's right at the end by the rocks and I used to say to people on the flight, I wonder about the logic of putting it there.'

Stuff travel reporter Brook Sabin visited the Bay of Plenty volcano earlier this year on a White Island Tours boat tour.

Despite visiting the island, he said he wasn't aware of the emergency shelter on it.

'I thought that would have been one of the most important pieces of information for us to know.

'We were given gas masks - mainly for comfort - but no information on what to do in the event of an eruption.'

Sabin said he was filming for most of the visit, so spent most of the time away from the main group.

'Perhaps they were told more emergency information - but I thought it would have been standard for everyone on the island to know the emergency procedures.

'The information may have been in the disclaimer, but to be honest I didn't read it - like most people I expect.'

Stuff travel reporter Pamela Wade also visited the volcano back in 2017 with Frontier Helicopters.

She said she saw the shipping container/bunker, near the old sulphur factory, which was not far from the jetty.

'The pilot checked the activity level before we took off – it was 1. We signed a waiver and given the usual Kiwi-lite safety instructions, mostly about the helicopter. We were given hard hats and gas masks (filter only) when we landed, and told not to wander,' she said.

Wade said her tour group of four spent about an hour on the ground and stood right next to the crater lake.

'We needed the gas masks intermittently when clouds of sulphurous gas blew our way and made us choke on the fumes. We got a lolly to suck on the way back to take the taste away. It was a really spectacular trip.'

White Island Tours was awarded the title of Safest Place to Work for 2018 (in the small business category) after beating 30 other finalists and 1200 entries.

At a media conference on Tuesday, Whakatāne District Council Mayor Judy Turner said White Island Tours had been running an amazing adventure tourism opportunity for nearly 30 years and had 'a very good reputation'.

There were 47 people were on the island at the time of the eruption on Monday. About 31 people were being treated at seven hospitals throughout the country. Three people have been discharged. On Tuesday night it was announced one of those 31, a patient at Middlemore, had died, bringing the official death toll to six.

Whakaari/White Island is currently New Zealand's most active volcano, it has been since an eruptive episode started in 1976.

Following the eruption, GeoNet initially raised the alert level to four of five, before dropping it to three, saying volcanic activity was subsiding.

On Tuesday, steam and mud was still jetting from the active vent. GNS Science warned that there was a 50/50 chance of another eruption occurring in the next 24 hours from Tuesday morning.

A second eruption could be of similar size to Monday's blast but is unlikely to be bigger.