New Zealand volcano: Terrified tourists run for cover as eruption kills five

Dramatic footage shows panic on a tour boat where a man repeatedly yells "go inside" as a volcano on New Zealand's White Island erupts and sends a giant ash cloud billowing over the water

Terrified holidaymakers ran for cover as a volcano erupted and sent an ash cloud billowing dangerously close to a tour boat.

Dramatic footage captured scenes of panic as a man repeatedly screams "go inside" and a worker yells over a tannoy: "Everybody inside the boat now."

The vessel was just off New Zealand's White Island when the volcano exploded just after 2pm local time on Monday, killing at least five people, injuring up to 20 and leaving several missing.

Tourists were walking inside the crater when the volcano began spewing rocks and an ash cloud that extended 12,000ft into the blue sky.

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Police believe less than 50 people were on the island, which is home to New Zealand's most active volcano.

At least 23 people - some of them believed to be tourists from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship - were rescued.

Michael Schade, an engineering manager from San Francisco, was one of the tourists who made it off the island minutes before the eruption.

In a video Schade posted on Twitter as he sped away from the  island on a boat, a huge plume of white ash soars into the sky as a group of frightened tourists huddles close to the shore.

He said: "This is so hard to believe. Our whole tour group were literally standing at the edge of the main crater not 30 minutes before."

Tourists were seen walking inside the crater just moments before the eruption.

A crater rim webcam owned and operated by New Zealand science agency GeoNet shows groups of people walking toward and away from the rim inside the crater, from which white vapour constantly billows.

At 2pm the crater rim camera catches a group of people - tiny specks in relation to the vast volcano - right at the edge of the rim.

At 2.10pm - just a minute before the eruption - the group is headed away from the rim, following a well-worn track across the crater.

It is understood that about half of those on the island at the time were from Australia.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters: "We know that there were a number of tourists on or around the island at the time, both New Zealanders and visitors from overseas.

"I know there will be a huge amount of concern and anxiety for those who had loved ones on or around the island at the time. I can assure them that police are doing everything they can."

It was too dangerous for police and rescuers to set foot on the island, which was covered in ash and volcanic material.

The death toll was expected to rise.

The White Island volcano's last fatal eruption was in 1914, when it killed 12 sulphur miners.

There was a short-lived eruption in April 2016.

White Island became a private scenic reserve in 1953, and daily tours allow more than 10,000 people to visit the volcano every year.