(CNN) At least one person has died and an unknown number are missing after a volcano on New Zealand's popular White Island tourist destination erupted Monday. Speaking at a press conference Monday, New Zealand National Operation Commander Deputy Commissioner John Tims said the fatality was a person who had already been evacuated from the island. Tims said that there could be more than 20 people still on the island who had not been heard from since the eruption. "At this stage it is too dangerous for police and rescue services to go on to the island... the island is currently covered in ash and volcanic material," he said. Tims said in a statement that fewer than 50 people were believed to have been on the island at the time of the eruption and about 23 had already been evacuated.

Source: CNN December 09, 2019 03:43 UTC