Five people have died on a New Zealand island when a volcano erupted, but Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned people to further “prepare for some difficult news”.

The death toll from the White Island volcanic explosion could reach double digits, with New Zealand police saying they have found “no signs of life” on the island.

There were 47 people in total on White Island when the volcano erupted on Monday afternoon.

Five are confirmed dead, eight are missing and 31 are in hospital.

Thirty-four injured people and five bodies were taken off the island by rescuers.

On Monday evening, police said they had conducted “a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island” but had not detected any signs of life.

“Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation,” the statement said.

“Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.

“Police are working urgently to confirm the exact number of those who have died, further to the five confirmed deceased already.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed 24 Australians were visiting the island “as part of a cruise ship tour group” and “a number” had been hospitalised.

“There are still people who are unaccounted for, including Australians. We are working to confirm the information with the NZ authorities,” he said on Twitter.

“We have so far been able to identify a number of Australians who have been hospitalised and will be working further on this through the night.”

The latest on the volcano eruption on Whakaari/White Island in NZ ⬇ pic.twitter.com/umcHb56ubW — Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) December 9, 2019

Earlier, Deputy Police Commissioner John Tims said the five victims were of a “range of nationalities”.

Experienced tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman was named by his brother on Facebook as one of the dead.

Emergency services were still unable to access the island on Monday night due to safety risks.

“The island is unstable … the physical environment is unsafe for us to return to the island,” Mr Tims said.

He said it was important to consider the health and safety of rescue teams who will eventually travel to the island.

Police said an NZ Defence Force ship would approach the perimeter of the island at first light to deploy drones and observational equipment to further assess the environment

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern initially said up to 100 people were on or near the volcano, also known as Whakaari, when it erupted at about 2.11pm local time and a number of others were “unaccounted for”.

However, NZ Police later revised that total figure to less than 50 people.

Many of the people visiting White Island on Monday were from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, which left Sydney five days ago and is berthed at the Port of Tauranga.

“We know that there were a number of tourists on or around the island at the time, both New Zealanders and visitors from overseas,” Ms Ardern said.

“I know there will be a huge amount of concern and anxiety for those who have loved ones on or around the island at the time. I can assure them police are doing everything they can.”

She arrived at the area with Minister for Civil Defence, Peeni Henare, on Monday night.

Tony Bonne, the former mayor of Whakatane on the mainland bordering the Bay of Plenty, said people are feeling numb.

TOUR OPERATOR SPEAKS OUT

White Island Tours’ chairman Paul Quinn said the company was deeply saddened following the significant eruption.

“Devastation is an understatement. This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been impacted,” he said.

Mr Quinn said the company was currently assisting police and Civil Defence with the official emergency response.

“We acknowledge the considerable efforts from Police and Civil Defence and will continue to do whatever is necessary throughout the rescue operation,” he said.

“Our immediate focus is on supporting our staff, manuhiri and respective whānau, who have been significantly impacted and are showing immense strength and courage.”

Emotional families of those affected — some with critical injuries — gathered at Whakatane wharf on the North Island, The New Zealand Herald reports.

People covered in ash were seen arriving for treatment after being transported from rescue helicopters.

NZ reporter Katee Shanks said emergency services were lining people up at Whakatane’s wharf in stretchers. Workers put up a white sheet to block the stretchers from the public.

A number of those rescued have been taken to nearby Whakatane Hospital while at least two patients with critical injuries were transported to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

Mr Tims said most of the 23 people rescued from the island had suffered burns.

The chief executive of Tauranga Port, Mark Cairns, said he understood the majority of those injured in the eruption were from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.

A Royal Caribbean spokesman confirmed yesterday that a number of guests were touring the island when the eruption occurred and the ship would remain at Tauranga overnight.

“The news from White Island is devastating. The details that are emerging are heartbreaking,” a statement provided to the New Zealand Herald said.

“We are working to help our guests and the authorities in the aftermath of this tragedy in any way we can.

“We are communicating with our guests and their families. We’re making sure they are taken care of in terms of medical help, counseling, accommodations, and transport. Our hearts go out to them, and we want to be as supportive as we can.

“Staff from our Sydney and Auckland offices office are already onsite, and we’re going to be offering all our resources while this terrible tragedy sorts out.

“We are grateful for the work of all the first responders and medical personnel. We also thank the prime minister and her team, the local authorities and everyone who has reached out to help with their kind thoughts and prayers.”

A volcanic eruption is occurring at White Island and is hazardous in the immediate vicinity of the volcano. — National Emergency Management Agency (@NZcivildefence) December 9, 2019

St John emergency services responded with 11 helicopters and 12 ambulances to treat and transport patients from the “exceptionally complex scene” to at least four different hospitals.

“One helicopter with paramedics and St John medical director Dr Tony Smith on board spent a short time on the island assessing the scene,” a statement from the organisation read tonight.

“Staging points were set up at Whakatane Airport and Whakatane Coastguard base to assess and triage patients.

“St John has treated patients with injuries ranging from critical and serious through to moderate and minor.”

GEONET CAMERAS GO DARK

GeoNet cameras providing a live feed from the volcano showed more than half a dozen people walking inside the rim at 12.10pm AEDT (2.10pm on the island), before images went dark when the eruption occurred minutes later.

The service has since removed the images and suspended its broadcast.

“We are aware that people were on the island immediately before the eruption and we express our concern for their safety,” duty volcanologist Geoff Kilgour said in a statement.

He said monitoring data shows a short-lived eruption generated an ash plume 12,000 feet (3,660 metres) above the vent.

“Ash has covered the main crater floor as seen in our webcam images,” Mr Kilgour said.

“There remains significant uncertainty as to future changes but currently, there are no signs of escalation.”

Whakaari/White Island is erupting. More information soon. pic.twitter.com/B5m4BSa4bt — GeoNet (@geonet) December 9, 2019

A Brazilian tourist who was on White Island moments before the eruption said people had suffered “extensive burns”.

Allessandro Kauffmann posted on Instagram: “Some people have extensive burns on their bodies. Two tours on the volcano. Ours was the first. The other one right after. We left the island and wasn’t even five minutes before it erupted. This other tour that arrived after couldn’t leave in time.

“Some people have serious burns. We had to stay to help those people who were on the island. The boat from this other tour was covered in ash from the volcano. Very tense talking about this. We just have to hope that all is as well as can be.”

Another tourist who was part of a tour group on the volcano tweeted that his group was “literally standing at the edge of the main crater not 30 minutes before it erupted”.

The volcano, located about 40km offshore of the Bay of Plenty, sent huge amounts of white smoke — most likely steam — into the air in the blast.

White Island Tours boats were reportedly near the island and five helicopters were dispatched to assess the situation.

My god, White Island volcano in New Zealand erupted today for first time since 2001. My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable. #whiteisland pic.twitter.com/QJwWi12Tvt — Michael Schade (@sch) December 9, 2019

Airways, New Zealand’s air traffic control centre, told news.com.au no flights had been impacted by the volcanic eruption, however pilots have been advised to avoid the area.

Police on Monday night said a no-fly zone is in place at five nautical miles around the island.

Long term resident Maree Reeve said it was “possibly the worst eruption she had ever seen from the island”.

The island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.

Calvin Kingi, whose Facebook profile says he works at White Island Tours, posted a photo of the island erupting.

“White Island just erupted as we left. We have our work mates and a tour still on the island. I hope they (are) OK,” he wrote.

Mr Kingi later said the boat he was on was returning to the island: “We have people in critical condition (to) help.”

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency has issued a national warning for a moderate eruption, saying conditions were hazardous in the vicinity of the volcano.

The Volcanic Alert Level was raised to 4 but has since been lowered to 3.

Civil Defence is warning people who live close to White Island to stay indoors.

The Himawari-8 satellite captured the White Island eruption from space on Monday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/BML42iOss8 — NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 9, 2019

Diveworks skipper Phil van Dusschoten, who was at the Whakatane Harbour watching the drama unfold, said he was on the island when it erupted several years ago.

He said that eruption was more ash causing a nuisance; later the eruptions have been more steam and gas-related.

He said from what he could see from the harbour, the eruption looked to be omitting steam and gas.

A camera on the White Island Crater Rim, held by GeoGet, showed a string of people visiting the crater at that time of the eruption.

Subsequent shots from the cameras of the crater rim and floor, displayed online every 10 minutes, show the blast rendered the cameras inoperable.

Whakaari is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, and frequently visited by tourists.

About 70 per cent of the volcano is under the sea.

Twelve people were killed on the island in 1914 when it was being mined for sulphur. Part of a crater wall collapsed and a landslide destroyed the miners’ village and the mine itself.

Volcanologist Professor Shane Cronin, from the University of Auckland, said “sudden, unheralded eruptions” from volcanoes such as White Island could be expected at any time.

He said they are driven by the expansion of “superheated water” into steam.

“The hazards expected from such events are the violent ejection of hot blocks and ash, and formation of ‘hurricane-like’ currents of wet ash and coarse particles that radiate from the explosion vent,” Professor Cronin said.

“These can be deadly in terms of causing impact trauma, burns and respiratory problems.

“The eruptions are short-lived, but once one occurs, there are high chances for further, generally smaller ones.”

Ash particles are similar enough in size to rain that we can see the White Island eruption on our radar. ^AJ pic.twitter.com/1IkGMLzQm7 — MetService (@MetService) December 9, 2019

White Island eruption was also visible on satellite images. ^AJ pic.twitter.com/Cx4LYHr9Ie — MetService (@MetService) December 9, 2019

Professor Richard Arculus, a volcanologist from the Australian National University, said the volcano is one of many in the “Ring of Fire”.

“It is one of a chain of volcanoes stretching from Ruapehu southward in the North Island, northwards through numerous (about 35) submarine volcanoes to the Kermadec group (Curtis, Macauley and Raoul) and onwards to the Tonga chain,” he said.

The local council said NZ Police and Bay of Plenty Civil Defence are working together.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark took to Twitter on Monday night to express her condolences over the “terrible tragedy”.

“My thoughts are with family of deceased and all injured and traumatised by the sudden eruption,” Ms Clark wrote.

“Having walked to the crater on the island, I can well imagine the terror of what happened.”

If you may know someone involved, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a hotline for consular support.

It is 1300 555 135, or if you’re outside Australia, +61 2 6261 3305 or SMS +61 421 269 080.

Those looking to contact New Zealand Police to submit information regarding friends or family who might have been visiting the island during the eruption can call +64 9105 105.

Missing persons can be registered with the New Zealand Red Cross via this link, where people can also register as ‘I am alive’ following the Whakaari/White Island eruption.

– With NZ Herald and wires