Airways blocked by swelling or damage from inhalation injuries. Intravenous drips to replace fluid lost through their burns. Potential organ failure. Shock. The constricting effect of damaged skin on limbs.

These are the initial traumas emergency specialists have to treat in patients with severe burns. However, they're just the start of a long recovery process that involves an enormous multidisciplinary team of experts, multiple surgeries, weeks or months in intensive care or acute hospital wards and then years of rehabilitation and recovery.

“A significant large burn is a life changing event,” director of adult burns at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne Associate Professor Heather Cleland said.

Thirty people were spread throughout seven New Zealand hospitals for burns treatment after White Island’s volcano eruption on Monday afternoon. Twenty-seven patients have severe burns, and some have burns to up to 95 per cent of their bodies. A large number were sedated, and 22 have inhalation injuries requiring airway support.