A volcanic eruption on Whakaari or White Island in New Zealand, has forced the country's aviation code to be raised to orange
A large plume of white smoke was visible from the mainland 48 kilometres away. Several people had earlier messaged the Bay of Plenty news outlet SunLive saying it appeared the volcano had erupted.An image captured at 2.10pm local time from a GNS camera appears to show people were on the island at the time of the eruption, though there has been no official confirmation. The island is popular with tourists who reach it by guided tour boat.
A police spokesperson said officers were responding to the incident. "We don't have any further information at this stage." The NZ National Emergency Management Agency said it was hazardous in the immediate vicinity of the volcano."It went from nothing to that suddenly popping up and expanding."There have been no reports of injury or destruction on the privately owned island after the blast, which began at 12.10pm AEDT.More to come
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