New Zealand volcano erupts, killing tourists on the island

Enlarge / A member of the last tour group to leave the island, Michael Schade, took this photo and posted it on Twitter. (credit: Michael Schade)

Monday was a tragic day at New Zealand’s White Island, as the volcano that forms the popular tourist destination erupted. Of 23 people taken off the island after the eruption, five have died. About two dozen more were on the island at the time, but police have seen no signs of survivors.

White Island (also known as Whakaari) is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the country's North Island and is the exposed summit of a stratovolcano that rises from the seafloor. Stratovolcanoes are prone to violent eruptions, as the chemistry of their magma makes it viscous, bottling up gas pressure.

New Zealand sits on a complex set of tectonic plate boundaries, including a subduction zone where the Pacific seafloor is colliding with and sliding beneath the North Island. Water released from the Pacific Plate deep below the surface allows mantle rock to melt, producing magma that rises up to fuel volcanoes like White Island.