A US tourist who was on White Island 20 minutes before the fatal eruption has spoken of the horrific aftermath and desperate efforts to rescue other visitors.
Michael Schade, from San Francisco, was on a boat near the island with his family when the eruption happened.
Forty-seven people were visiting the island at the time of Monday's eruption. Five are confirmed dead.
Schade posted a series of videos to social media, showing the full eruption and the island covered in a cloud of white smoke and ash.
"We were taking photos and videos and then it dawned on us what had happened," Schade told The Guardian.
"I was basically just shocked. The boat turned back and we grabbed some people that were waiting on the pier," he told the BBC.
A number of people were rescued by boat, and others by helicopter.
"Some people had pockets of burns, other people were fine and others were really rough," Schade told The Guardian.
Thirty-one people remain in hospital, many of whom are critical according to St John. A further three people were discharged.
Eight people were unable to be rescued from the island, and on Tuesday police said its aerial searches had picked up no signs of life.
Those killed, missing and injured in the disaster are from several different countries, including the US, UK, China, Australia and Malaysia.
Twenty-four Australians were on the island at the time of the eruption. Some have been hospitalised while others are unaccounted for.
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