Police say 25 of the 30 wounded still in critical condition
The death toll from the eruption of New Zealand’s White Island (Whakaari) volcano has risen to six after one of the 31 people who were hospitalized for wounds and burns died from their injuries, police said Wednesday.
Police said 25 of the 30 wounded were still in critical condition following the eruption Monday afternoon.
They did not disclose the identity of the person who died at Middlemore Hospital.
Police said that the victims were tourists from Australia, the U.K., China, Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia and the U.S.
The eruption began at 2.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT).
The police previously said there were fewer than 50 people on or near the island at the time.
The authorities advised residents in the region to remain in their homes and close their windows.
The volcano last erupted in 2001.
Nine people have been officially listed as missing after the eruption of a volcano on New Zealand's White Island, police said on Wednesday, seven of them Australians and two New Zealanders.
"This is not a complete list of the missing as we have been unable to speak with all next of kin involved," the police added in their statement.
The death toll from Monday's eruption stands at six and 30 injured.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that recovery teams were hoping to access the volcanic island on Wednesday.
"That's everyone's hope," Ardern told reporters about the possibility of accessing White Island, which lies some 50 km (30 miles) off the mainland.
Ardern said that emergency response officials would meet on Wednesday morning "to again start that process to try and get all information to make those decisions as quickly as possible."
