Escape From Whakaari

Netflix Documentary Shows First-Hand Footage of Daring Rescue From Erupting Volcano

- Aron Vaughan

On Dec. 9, 2019, a volcano erupted on a small island off the coast of New Zealand. The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand named the volcano “Whakaari,” which translates to “dramatic” in English.

The eruption on that day claimed the lives of 22 people either in the explosion or from injuries sustained, including two whose bodies were never found and were later declared dead. A further 25 people suffered injuries, most needing intensive care for severe burns.

Director Rory Kennedy recently created a documentary called The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari that chronicles the natural disaster and the experiences of the three tour groups present during the unanticipated eruption.

Visiting an Active Volcano

During a routine sightseeing day-trip to the remote volcanic island, 47 tourists and guides were trapped in the epicenter of a boiling pyroclastic surge of toxic dust and ash. Both terrifying and inspiring, the film uses first-hand accounts to convey the experience of living through such a deadly eruption.

Whakaari is an active stratovolcano island in New Zealand’s northeastern Bay of Plenty region. Due to the unprecedented access the island offers to the mouth of the volcano, it has long been a popular tourist destination.