by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:41 AM ET, Mon December 9, 2019
Update: December 11, 2019 at 8:10 a.m. ET
Officials in New Zealand have announced there were 47 people on White Island when its volcano erupted Monday, leaving at least six people dead and another eight people missing and presumed dead.
Continued volcanic activity has limited the ability for rescue and recovery teams to access the island. According to NBCNews.com, two Americans, Matthew and Lauren Urey of Richmond, Virginia, were on the island when the volcano erupted.
The couple was honeymooning in New Zealand when they visited the island and received severe burns. The couple is being treated at two different hospitals in the area, as doctors continue to call for more skin grafts needed to help victims.
In addition, local media reports revealed nine of the people on the island at the time of the explosion were American, but it was unclear how many were hospitalized or still missing.
New Zealand's Ministry of Health said 30 patients are being treated at seven hospitals.
Update: December 10, 2019 at 8:20 a.m. ET
The volcanic eruption on White Island off the coast of New Zealand has been complicated again due to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck near Gisborne yesterday, making rescue efforts in the region even more difficult.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there were 47 people on the island when the volcano erupted, with six confirmed deaths, eight people missing and 31 currently hospitalized.
Of the 47 people on the island, 38 were from the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, but it remains unclear how many of those cruise passengers were killed or injured. The tourists on the island were reportedly from Australia, the United Kingdom, China, Malaysia and the United States.
"Both New Zealanders and overseas tourists are believed to involved, and a number were from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship (berthed in Tauranga)," Prime Minister Morrison told The New Zealand Herald.
The people still missing on the island are presumed dead, after surveillance flights showed no signs of life following the eruption.
A volcanic eruption on a small island in New Zealand Monday resulted in at least five confirmed deaths and the fears that many more people could have died, including tourists.
According to The Washington Post, New Zealand Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said that 23 people were rescued from White Island following the first of three eruptions, but conditions around the volcano prohibited any further attempts to save those trapped.
Tims spoke during a press conference and said the death toll is likely to rise, as police aerial reconnaissance flights have shown no signs of life on the island. The ash from the eruptions forced planes to avoid the area and ships to be redirected.
Police in New Zealand believe there were locals and tourists on the island at the time of the eruptions, including around 30 passengers from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, according to New Zealand Cruise Association CEO Kevin O'Sullivan.
It remains unclear if any of the Royal Caribbean passengers were among those killed.
"Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation," New Zealand Police officials said in a statement. "Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island."
While White Island, also known as Whakaari, is uninhabited due to the volcano's regular eruptions, the island has remained popular with tourists who visit the desolate area via boat and helicopter.
"Our hope is that everyone will be recovered quickly and unharmed, but at this time we have no further information," O'Sullivan told The Washington Post.
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