After New Zealand Volcanic Eruption At Least 5 Dead And Two People Feared Missing

At least five people are dead after an eruption on a volcanic island off the coast of New Zealand on Monday and More than two dozen people were feared missing.

That toll is expected to rise. The New Zealand police said in a statement on Tuesday that “no signs of life have been seen at any point” on the island by reconnaissance flights made since the eruption. “Anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued,” the police said.

Authorities say an estimated 30 to 38 of those on the island when the volcano erupted were on an adventure excursion from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that was docked on North Island about 30 miles away.

"We are continuing to work as quickly as possible, through a number of channels of information, to confirm exact numbers of those involved, including those who remain on the island," New Zealand Police said in a statement Monday.

Tour operators took some people off the island before it was declared unsafe. Twenty-three people were rescued, police said on Monday, adding that others were still on the island.

Among the missing were about a dozen people who were seen on a webcam exploring the upper reaches of the volcano’s crater just before the eruption at 2:11 p.m. local time, Reuters reported.

Kevin O’Sullivan, chief executive of the New Zealand Cruise Association and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, confirmed that tourists from the Ovation of the Seas ship were involved. He said the names and nationalities of those who were on the volcano for the cruise line’s “epic adventure excursion” have been handed to New Zealand police.

The volcano erupted just after 2 p.m. local time on Monday, according to The Guardian, which reports 23 people have been rescued.