Just three years ago off the eastern coast of New Zealand, a small island known as ‘White Island’ was home to hundreds of daily tourists. White Island is a stratovolcano that thousands of tourists each year flocked to witness first hand. But on December 19, 2019, the volcano erupted out of the nowhere, claiming the lives of 22 people, leaving many others severely burned and disfigured.
As tourists hiked to the volcano’s crater, it began erupting, sending massive plumes of ash that rose thousands of feet into the air. Scalding steam, toxic gases and large rocks were ejected from the volcano as people ran and hid for their lives.
A very detailed account of this horrific day has been released in a Netflix documentary called ‘The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari’. It features actual video shot by tourists during the eruption and witness accounts from survivors.
The rescue mission was just as tough to watch as the actual eruption – it is a heartbreaking documentary – but it brings light to how serious Mother Nature can be, she has no limits nor boundaries.
We don’t want to give away any spoilers, so we will simply let you know that the documentary is most certainly worth watching.
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
Rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Watch on Netflix.