Cruise ship passengers react to volcano tragedy

(10 Dec 2019) Some of those caught up in the New Zealand volcanic eruption were passengers from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas, who were exploring White Island at the time of the explosion. The cruise ship, which had left from Sydney last week, was scheduled to sail to the capital Wellington late on Monday. But the company said it would instead remain in Tauranga port overnight until it learned more about the fate of the missing and injured passengers. Authorities said 47 people were on the island at the time of Monday's eruption, some of them walking along the rim of the crater just before the moment it blew up. White Island is the tip of an undersea volcano. The deadly disaster has raised questions of why people were allowed to visit the island, some 30 miles (50 kilometres) off the mainland after scientists had noted an uptick in volcanic activity in recent weeks. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...