“I’m just livid”: Cruise passengers claim they weren’t told about White Islands active volcano
An Australian cruise passenger is furious and has claimed that tourists weren’t warned about the danger level of the New Zealand volcano White Island was raised just weeks before it erupted.
At least six people have died after the volcano erupted when 47 tourists were on or around the volcano crater.
Scientists had noted an increase in volcanic activity, which raises questions about why visitors were allowed to tour the volcano in the first place.
'It showed increased activity for the last few weeks and so we raised the alert level,' GeoNet Project Director Dr Ken Gledhill said on Monday afternoon to MSN.
Venessa Lugo, who is a passenger on Ovation of the Seas, said that the cruise provided information about the White Island day trip but did not detail the raised danger level, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Lugo said that there were printed sheets on the ship as well as details accessible on a Royal Caribbean app about the shore excursion.
“In those sheets we weren't advised of any warnings of anything going off,” she said.
“It did ask about pre-existing medical conditions, and it was classified as strenuous activity because you would be in a gas mask, but it definitely didn't specify the possibility of (the volcano) going off.”
A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean did not comment on the claims when contacted but released a statement about the incident.
“The news from White Island is devastating. The details that are emerging are heartbreaking.
“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, counselling, accommodations, and transport. Our hearts go out to them, and we want to be as supportive as we can.”
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) 9 December 2019
Barbara Barhamn, the mother of Lauren Urey, said that her daughter and her husband Matthew would have “never booked the excursion” had they known about the risks.
“I'm just livid,” she said after learning the couple had been rescued with burns.
“There's been warnings about it ... my son-in-law never would have booked the excursion if he knew there was any chance of them being injured,” she said.
White Islands Tours chairman Paul Quinn said that decisions not to tour the island is determined by the weather.
“In the normal course of events, we'd actually make that call the night before, and that principally and invariably is around the weather,” he explained to TVNZ.
Quinn also explained that they work off data sent from the Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS).
“They send us reports as to what the activity levels are and if in fact it is deemed safe - which is a level two which it was yesterday - the next step is the weather and then we make our choice from there,” he said.
Quinn said that a level two has been deemed safe for tours.
Others have said that the eruption was just a matter of time, including Monash University Emeritus Professor Ray Cas.
“White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,” he said to the ABC.
"It's 50 kilometres offshore from New Zealand with no habitation, no emergency services available.
"When you actually get onto the island, you walk straight into this amphitheatre-like volcanic crater.
"The floor is littered with many gas-emitting vents and also several volcanic crater lakes which are emitting steam at near-boiling temperatures.”