Up to 50 people may have been on Whakaari or White Island in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, when the island volcano erupted on Monday.
Police said they were working with the National Emergency Management Agency to co-ordinate a search and rescue operation and ensure the safety of everyone involved, including rescue staff.
"They're just trying to figure out how they can get the helicopters in. And how close we can get without it being very unsafe for our crew," she said. An image from a GNS Science camera, captured at 2.10pm local time, appears to show people were on the island at the time of the eruption.Credit:"Ash has covered the main crater floor as seen in our webcam images. Ash fall appears to be confined to the island and we do not expect more than a minor amount of ash to reach East Cape in the coming hours," it said.
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