IT was like a scene from a disaster movie – ash spewed from a volcano top as tourists cried out in pain with their “skin hanging off”.
It took just minutes for the Whakaari volcano on White Island, off the North Island of New Zealand, to spill its deadly contents in December 2019.
On that day 47 tourists had travelled to the island for the experience of a lifetime, but just 25 made it off alive after the volcano unexpectedly blew.
Were it not for the courage of volunteers and other tourists, more might have died.
Now the handful of brave people who put their lives on the line to save others - with no idea if the volcano would explode again - have spoken out in a new Channel 5 documentary that airs tonight.
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As rescue services were delayed by refuelling, helicopter pilots Jason Hill, Mark Law, and their boss Tom Storey, who owns an aerial support business in New Zealand, knew tourists on the previously peaceful island were in peril.
They jumped into company helicopters and flew into the danger zone wearing protective gear and gas masks to protect them from the deadly flume of ash and smoke that belted out from Whakaari’s vent.
Many victims had already been helped off the island by nearby tourists moored in a boat that was due to leave.
Others lay dead or dying from extreme burns and blast injuries further up the volcano.
Helicopter pilot Tom said: “The first person we came across was deceased and we just kept moving until we found a group of survivors.
“Probably 90 per cent couldn’t speak to us. Some had concussion, a lot couldn't move. There was a lot of moaning and crying out for help.
“I knew eight had passed away. You had to go to the most responsive ones, the ones you thought had the best chance of survival.
"It was pretty hard going past people you didn’t think were going to make it, but it’s a decision you had to make to help who you could.”
Co-pilot Jason said: “They were all quite burnt, quite significantly, but we let them know we were there to help them and get them off the island.”
As Jason flew the first batch of injured victims away, he knew he had to keep them awake to give them the best chance.
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He said: “They were in the machine and I was just yelling to try and keep them awake. I knew they were in a bad way.”
True heroes
Emergency services were delayed to the scene after being diverted to refuel.
When they landed on the island, they struggled to breathe in the heavy ash.
They were considering taking off again when Tom emerged from the grey landscape with gas masks.
You had to go to the most responsive ones, the ones you thought had the best chance of survival. It was pretty hard going past people you didn’t think were going to make it but it’s a decision you had to make to help who you could
Tom Storey, helicopter pilot
Helicopter paramedic Stefan Gabor recalled: “He just turned up out of the blue with a bucket of masks and gave us one each.
“He was just on his own initially, and we were going, ‘Are you okay?’ and he said, ‘Yep, we’ve just been scouring the island.' He looked as if he’d seen quite a bit of stuff (trauma).
“They’d done an amazing job and they are just heroes. I was in awe of what they had achieved.”
The blast from the eruption had been so violent that a tourist helicopter was blown off its landing pad, its rotors caked in grey ash.
'Skin falling off'
Many of those who escaped the island first had made their way down to the shore where other tourists, who had witnessed the eruption, were waiting to help in a boat.
Geoff Hopkins and daughter Lillani had not long left the island and were enjoying sightseeing on the other side of the volcano from a tour boat when they saw the eruption.
Their boat sped back to the other side where injured tourists had made it to the shore.
Lillani, who had first aid training, said: “I’d seen burns before and blisters, but nothing like this.
Probably 90 per cent couldn’t speak to us. Some had concussion, a lot couldn't move. There was a lot of moaning and crying out for help
Tom Storey, helicopter pilot
"It covered their whole bodies, people’s skin looked like it was just falling off.
“We poured cold water on their skin directly and it caused more damage, so we covered them in a piece of clothing to provide that damp surface.
"But there just wasn’t enough water for everyone to have what they needed.”
Geoff added: “They went from needing cool on their burns to suddenly going very, very cold and then going into shock.”
As the boat raced the 49km back to shore, Lillani sang to the victims to soothe them.
She said: “There was a mix of noises in the back… screaming… I just started humming a song, more for my own peace of mind.
"Then one of the guys I sat near grabbed my ankle when I stopped and told me to keep going.
"So I started singing a song, just to give them a sense of hope and joy, which was better than the sound of people screaming in pain.”
Geoff added: “When people were saying, ‘I’m not going to make it,’ we were saying, ‘Yes you are because you’ve got a lifetime ahead of you and it won’t finish today. This is not your last day'.”
I’d seen burns before and blisters but nothing like this. It covered their whole bodies, people’s skin looked like it was just falling off
Lillani Hopkins
Devastatingly Tom found the body of popular tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman, 40, and “propped him up” in the hope he would be recovered by rescue services so he could have a funeral.
But a thunder and lightning storm lashed White Island that night and Hayden's body was washed away.
Hayden’s brother Mark Inman called the helicopter staff “heroes”.
“To take yourself out to an active volcano that’s just had a cough is incredibly brave," he said.
“Hayden would have put everyone else first and put himself last. He always said if something happened he’d be the last one off the island.”
Countdown to Disaster: White Island Eruption airs tonight on Channel 5 at 10pm.
