Netflix The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand if they were at level 2 and volcanic activity was imminent, why didn’t they continue touring?

Doesn’t the government declare emergency and ban people from visiting White Island?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can't make myself watch. The rescue agencies just left those people there to die.

That’s not exactly true. The doc explains this.

I just watched it and it seems like that’s exactly what happened.

Disagree, every living person was rescued.

I was so impressed with that young man who lost the rest of his family! Talk about PTSD.

Huh? They were rescued, but not by the rescue agencies. Other people bravely stepped in to do their job.

Exactly. And not only that, but many of those who were rescued ended up dying later. Who knows if being helped better/sooner could have saved any of them.

Am I the only one who caught the fact the closest rescue by helicopter was an hour away? The private company was 20 minutes away. The closest boats were 60-90 minutes away. This was an act of god and most people were killed instantly or dead before even the closest rescue could have gotten to them. The kid who survived had no way of knowing his family was still alive when he was rescued.

It is easy to Monday morning quarterback, but the idea professional medical personnel left them to die is patently absurd.

The “professional medical personnel” didn’t even bother to show up.

The brave people who stepped in almost missed that kid. They were about to leave before they found him.

Sometimes a decision to continue search and rescue or recovery is based on time and the fact putting further lives in danger who then need rescue or recovery. If you have never worked in emergency services you wouldn’t know that. So you sit on the sidelines making your opinions known. Yes there were CLOSER people who went who could have ended up in further danger.

Yes, they made it clear they were risk averse. Interesting choice when you’re the rescue crew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand if they were at level 2 and volcanic activity was imminent, why didn’t they continue touring?

Doesn’t the government declare emergency and ban people from visiting White Island?

Who was aware that it was imminent and how? Level 2 doesn’t mean “imminent”.

[Anonymous]

The documentary didn’t leave me thinking that rescue services had simply abandoned the tourists on the island, but reading this thread Im getting the sense that the 60 minutes episode paints that picture. Having only seen the documentary, to me the response just seemed chaotic and scrambling, reflecting a lack of preparedness but not necessarily a lack of willingness to do whatever could be done. Maybe I need to see the 60 minutes episode to get a better understanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't make myself watch. The rescue agencies just left those people there to die.

That’s not exactly true. The doc explains this.

I just watched it and it seems like that’s exactly what happened.

Disagree, every living person was rescued.

I was so impressed with that young man who lost the rest of his family! Talk about PTSD.

Huh? They were rescued, but not by the rescue agencies. Other people bravely stepped in to do their job.

Exactly. And not only that, but many of those who were rescued ended up dying later. Who knows if being helped better/sooner could have saved any of them.

Am I the only one who caught the fact the closest rescue by helicopter was an hour away? The private company was 20 minutes away. The closest boats were 60-90 minutes away. This was an act of god and most people were killed instantly or dead before even the closest rescue could have gotten to them. The kid who survived had no way of knowing his family was still alive when he was rescued.

It is easy to Monday morning quarterback, but the idea professional medical personnel left them to die is patently absurd.

The “professional medical personnel” didn’t even bother to show up.

The brave people who stepped in almost missed that kid. They were about to leave before they found him.

Sometimes a decision to continue search and rescue or recovery is based on time and the fact putting further lives in danger who then need rescue or recovery. If you have never worked in emergency services you wouldn’t know that. So you sit on the sidelines making your opinions known. Yes there were CLOSER people who went who could have ended up in further danger.

The putting further lives in danger theory is weak
And if a helicopter had landed, or if more rescue personnel had arrived, they would have been fine

You need real facts, not whimps that are afraid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't make myself watch. The rescue agencies just left those people there to die.

That’s not exactly true. The doc explains this.

I just watched it and it seems like that’s exactly what happened.

Disagree, every living person was rescued.

I was so impressed with that young man who lost the rest of his family! Talk about PTSD.

Huh? They were rescued, but not by the rescue agencies. Other people bravely stepped in to do their job.

Exactly. And not only that, but many of those who were rescued ended up dying later. Who knows if being helped better/sooner could have saved any of them.

Am I the only one who caught the fact the closest rescue by helicopter was an hour away? The private company was 20 minutes away. The closest boats were 60-90 minutes away. This was an act of god and most people were killed instantly or dead before even the closest rescue could have gotten to them. The kid who survived had no way of knowing his family was still alive when he was rescued.

It is easy to Monday morning quarterback, but the idea professional medical personnel left them to die is patently absurd.

The “professional medical personnel” didn’t even bother to show up.

The brave people who stepped in almost missed that kid. They were about to leave before they found him.

Sometimes a decision to continue search and rescue or recovery is based on time and the fact putting further lives in danger who then need rescue or recovery. If you have never worked in emergency services you wouldn’t know that. So you sit on the sidelines making your opinions known. Yes there were CLOSER people who went who could have ended up in further danger.

The putting further lives in danger theory is weak
And if a helicopter had landed, or if more rescue personnel had arrived, they would have been fine

You need real facts, not whimps that are afraid

NP but they didn’t know it would be fine. What if that was just an initial eruption? It was really dangerous for those tour guides to go back and look for survivors and for the helicopters to land. It’s easy to say the emergency personnel would be fine now. Just like it’s easy to say tours shouldn’t have been on the island at level two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't make myself watch. The rescue agencies just left those people there to die.

That’s not exactly true. The doc explains this.

I just watched it and it seems like that’s exactly what happened.

Disagree, every living person was rescued.

I was so impressed with that young man who lost the rest of his family! Talk about PTSD.

Huh? They were rescued, but not by the rescue agencies. Other people bravely stepped in to do their job.

Exactly. And not only that, but many of those who were rescued ended up dying later. Who knows if being helped better/sooner could have saved any of them.

Am I the only one who caught the fact the closest rescue by helicopter was an hour away? The private company was 20 minutes away. The closest boats were 60-90 minutes away. This was an act of god and most people were killed instantly or dead before even the closest rescue could have gotten to them. The kid who survived had no way of knowing his family was still alive when he was rescued.

It is easy to Monday morning quarterback, but the idea professional medical personnel left them to die is patently absurd.

The “professional medical personnel” didn’t even bother to show up.

The brave people who stepped in almost missed that kid. They were about to leave before they found him.

Sometimes a decision to continue search and rescue or recovery is based on time and the fact putting further lives in danger who then need rescue or recovery. If you have never worked in emergency services you wouldn’t know that. So you sit on the sidelines making your opinions known. Yes there were CLOSER people who went who could have ended up in further danger.

The putting further lives in danger theory is weak
And if a helicopter had landed, or if more rescue personnel had arrived, they would have been fine

You need real facts, not whimps that are afraid

NP but they didn’t know it would be fine. What if that was just an initial eruption? It was really dangerous for those tour guides to go back and look for survivors and for the helicopters to land. It’s easy to say the emergency personnel would be fine now. Just like it’s easy to say tours shouldn’t have been on the island at level two.

DP. There was certainly a risk. It should have been the rescuers taking that risk - the job they signed up to do - instead of, or at least along side with, the actual heroes who saved the survivors. Doing nothing was the worst option they could take. It guaranteed MORE fatalities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't make myself watch. The rescue agencies just left those people there to die.

That’s not exactly true. The doc explains this.

I just watched it and it seems like that’s exactly what happened.

Disagree, every living person was rescued.

I was so impressed with that young man who lost the rest of his family! Talk about PTSD.

Huh? They were rescued, but not by the rescue agencies. Other people bravely stepped in to do their job.

Exactly. And not only that, but many of those who were rescued ended up dying later. Who knows if being helped better/sooner could have saved any of them.

Am I the only one who caught the fact the closest rescue by helicopter was an hour away? The private company was 20 minutes away. The closest boats were 60-90 minutes away. This was an act of god and most people were killed instantly or dead before even the closest rescue could have gotten to them. The kid who survived had no way of knowing his family was still alive when he was rescued.

It is easy to Monday morning quarterback, but the idea professional medical personnel left them to die is patently absurd.

The “professional medical personnel” didn’t even bother to show up.

The brave people who stepped in almost missed that kid. They were about to leave before they found him.

Sometimes a decision to continue search and rescue or recovery is based on time and the fact putting further lives in danger who then need rescue or recovery. If you have never worked in emergency services you wouldn’t know that. So you sit on the sidelines making your opinions known. Yes there were CLOSER people who went who could have ended up in further danger.

The putting further lives in danger theory is weak
And if a helicopter had landed, or if more rescue personnel had arrived, they would have been fine

You need real facts, not whimps that are afraid

NP but they didn’t know it would be fine. What if that was just an initial eruption? It was really dangerous for those tour guides to go back and look for survivors and for the helicopters to land. It’s easy to say the emergency personnel would be fine now. Just like it’s easy to say tours shouldn’t have been on the island at level two.

DP. There was certainly a risk. It should have been the rescuers taking that risk - the job they signed up to do - instead of, or at least along side with, the actual heroes who saved the survivors. Doing nothing was the worst option they could take. It guaranteed MORE fatalities.

PP and I guess that’s fine. But the PP was commenting as if there were no risks at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The documentary didn’t leave me thinking that rescue services had simply abandoned the tourists on the island, but reading this thread Im getting the sense that the 60 minutes episode paints that picture. Having only seen the documentary, to me the response just seemed chaotic and scrambling, reflecting a lack of preparedness but not necessarily a lack of willingness to do whatever could be done. Maybe I need to see the 60 minutes episode to get a better understanding.

You must have been distracted when the documentary said EXACTLY that. The private helicopter pilot said he called official rescue to alert them to the situation and rescue responded that it was too dangerous for a rescue mission. The private helicopter guys then pulled off the rescue, such as it was. Devastating all around.

[Anonymous]

The factors that have me leaning toward compassion for the call to keep rescue 🛟 workers safe include the fact that the island was 90 minutes away from the shoreline by boat and 45 min away by helicopter. There would have been zero way of knowing if a second eruption would occur. Weather conditions at sea 🌊 can change in a heartbeat, it was a terrible terrible circumstance all around.

Tour company should have never taken them on a Level 2.

[Anonymous]

One of the more tragic parts of this story is that two bodies were never recovered. Officials think they were swept out to sea.

I went looking for more info about them, and one was a tour guide (brother of the helicopter pilot interviewed in this doc). I came across this article about how he was a hero during a previous incident with the tour company. One of their boats suddenly burst into flames and sank. 60 tourists had to jump in the ocean, most without life jackets. They had no fire detectors on board and a shitty firefighting system. Certainly doesn’t make me want to trust this tour company much.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/white-island-eruption-dead-guide-hayden-marshall-inman-was-a-hero-who-had-previously-saved-two-tourists-lives/V4DW2QOI4IW4QVQU6V7CLHRQGQ/

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/01/sunken-white-island-tour-boat-should-have-had-fire-alarms.amp.html

[Anonymous]

I'm curious about the sister of the one survivor - the one who also lost his mom and dad. His parents were recovered, but his sister was never found. Any theories or thoughts on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about the sister of the one survivor - the one who also lost his mom and dad. His parents were recovered, but his sister was never found. Any theories or thoughts on this?

She’s the other one I referenced above. They think she washed out to sea. I saw one article that said a helicopter saw a body floating in the sea, but lost sight of it in the rough swell. It was thought to be her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about the sister of the one survivor - the one who also lost his mom and dad. His parents were recovered, but his sister was never found. Any theories or thoughts on this?

She’s the other one I referenced above. They think she washed out to sea. I saw one article that said a helicopter saw a body floating in the sea, but lost sight of it in the rough swell. It was thought to be her.

But my impression was that she and her parents were very close to the mouth of the volcano and nowhere near the water as the brother recounted his journey to go find help - how could she then be in the water? Perhaps my impression of what he recounted was incorrect or I misunderstood what he described.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious about the sister of the one survivor - the one who also lost his mom and dad. His parents were recovered, but his sister was never found. Any theories or thoughts on this?

She’s the other one I referenced above. They think she washed out to sea. I saw one article that said a helicopter saw a body floating in the sea, but lost sight of it in the rough swell. It was thought to be her.

But my impression was that she and her parents were very close to the mouth of the volcano and nowhere near the water as the brother recounted his journey to go find help - how could she then be in the water? Perhaps my impression of what he recounted was incorrect or I misunderstood what he described.

I can’t find that other article that said the floating body was thought to be her, but this one gives their location and says the floating body was actually the tour guide. The last rescuer from the helicopters stayed on the island for a while to search for bodies, so I think this info came from him.

“Marshall-Inman and Winona Langford had been 800m away from the eruption, and 300m from the shoreline, but a violent rainstorm had swollen the stream near where they lay, and washed them into the sea.”

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2020/09/what-really-happened-happened-on-whakaari-white-island/