Climber hurt in lahar 'seconds from death'

Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter

LAHAR VISIBLE: In this shot taken over Mt Ruapehu by helicopter one of the lahars from the eruption can be clearly seen.

Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter

LAHAR VISIBLE: In this shot taken over Mt Ruapehu by helicopter one of the lahars from the eruption can be clearly seen.

Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter

BLAST SITE: Ash covers the top of Mt Ruapehu following an eruption. Scientists say the blast was a "small to moderate" event.

Geonet

ALL QUIET: Mt Ruapheu at 7am this morning. The volcano exploded last night, sending lahars down the northern and eastern sides of the mountain and injuring a climber.

COLIN BAKER

SLUMBERING: Mt Ruapehu at 6am this morning. This picture of was taken from Owhango by a Stuff reader who works on the ski fields.

This image represents one day's recording of the seismometer located near the Far West T-Bar on Mount Ruapehu. Far West (FWVZ) seismic station is part of the Tongariro volcano-seismic network. The timestamp shown at the top right of this seismograph drum is the time when this image was last refreshed. Each horizontal line (or trace) represents 30 minutes, each vertical line is spaced 1 minute apart; 24 hours of recording are displayed in total. The most recent signal is drawn at the bottom right hand corner of the drum. Then read the traces from right to left, bottom to top, to get from the most recent to the oldest signals. The trace will appear red if the signals are very large; this means they have has been clipped to stop them overwriting too much of the surrounding image.

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A doctor says the young climber who lost a leg when he was crushed by a rock hurled out of Mt Ruapehu's crater last night was a hair's breadth away from death for hours.
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Dr John Bonning, the Waikato Hospital emergency department doctor who treated William Pike at Taumarunui Hospital and then at Waikato Hospital said he was "amazed" by the man's recovery.

"The fact that he's recovered is a miracle," Dr Bonning said.

William Pike, 22, an Auckland primary school teacher, had his right leg amputated below the knee and also has damage to his left.

He was inside Dome Hut near Ruapehu's summit when the rock crashed through the roof and crushed his legs.

But the hospital reported this afternoon Mr Pike had regained consciousness and was talking to family and friends.

Dr Bonning said Mr Pike had recovered from the "worst degree of metabolic derangement that I have ever seen."

The doctor added: "His body had pretty much shut down and he was so close to death, literally seconds from death."

Dr Bonning said the young man's body temperature was 25degC to 26degC and he was dangerously close to a cardiac arrest.

"For the majority of the night he was a hair's breadth away from dying. It brought tears to my eyes to see him just now," he said in a statement released by the hospital late this afternoon.

"If there'd been any delays in any stage of the process, he would have been dead. Someone was with him every step of the way." "I congratulate everybody for what they did - to get him off the mountain, to Taumarunui, to Waikato. A young life with so much potential has not been wasted."

Dome hut, at 2670m on Dome Ridge overlooking the crater, is described on the Department of Conservation's website as an emergency-only shelter.

It is not supposed to be used for overnight stays.

The shelter is to be demolished when it's scheduled for replacement in the future.

A smaller replacement structure to house sensing equipment will have no accommodation.

One of Mr Pike's friends in the hut, James Christie, raised the alarm after the accident last night.

A Whakapapa ski field vehicle ploughed its way to the hut and ferried the stricken climber to the road-head where the party was met by an ambulance.

The Taupo Lion Foundation rescue helicopter then met the ambulance and flew Mr Pike to Taumarunui Hospital where he was first given emergency treatment before being flown on to Waikato Hospital.

Mr Pike was comfortable in hospital tonight, recovering from surgery but still suffering the affects of hypothermia.

His father Barry said his son was aware of what was going on and he too called his son's survival a "miracle."

DOC Turangi spokesman Dave Wakelin said tonight earlier reports of a second person injured on the mountain during the volcanic blast were incorrect.

MOUNTAIN SILENT, BUT CAUTION URGED

Sightseers are being warned to stay away from the top of Mt Ruapehu for at least five days after last night's unexpected eruption.

The volcano has slumbered today but experts are wary of saying the volcanic activity is over.

Department of Conservation scientist Harry Keys told NZPA there had been no more volcanic tremors today and he and his GNS colleagues were "getting more relaxed" as the day wore on.

However, he described Ruapehu as an "extremely unpredictable" volcano and said it was still possible that further eruptions could happen over the next two or three days.

The risk was high to extreme in the crater area.

"The only way we can manage that risk is by saying to people 'don't go up to the crater for a few days'.

"If people are in the summit area when the mountain erupts they would be very lucky to escape with their lives," Dr Keys said.

Skifield operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts is keen to reopen tomorrow as they are in the middle of the busy and lucrative school holidays.

The company said it had taken the "prudent approach" in closing today.

Dr Keys said he was "relatively relaxed" about the skifields reopening tomorrow and the matter would be reviewed again in the morning.

Regardless of whether the skifields opened or not, Dr Keys said the advice authorities were giving the public was that they should not venture above the top of the skifield boundary.

There was minimal risk of a small lahar coming down the western boundary of the Whakapapa ski area, but that risk was managed by the alarm system in place on the mountain, he said.

"This is possibly the most heavily alarmed volcano in the world, but they can only tell us what the mountain tells us.

"Ruapehu is a difficult, unpredictable volcano. The risk (on the mountain) is never zero."

"Every five or 10 years there are eruptions which are hazardous if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Dr Keys said scientists would not be heading up to the crater rim for a few days.

It was, however, important to get samples of the crater lake water to test for acidity and temperature.

"We do this kind of thing when it is necessary under strict management controls," he said.

This would be undertaken by helicopter but Dr Keys was unsure whether it would happen tomorrow or Friday.

SKIERS EVACUATED

Skiers at several ski huts were evacuated to the Chateau at the bottom of the mountain road, but have now been allowed back onto the mountain.

A steam and ash cloud was seen from Turoa ski-field when the volcano erupted for seven minutes without warning about 8.15pm.

GNS Science said it lost the signals from its equipment at the shelter, which indicated "significant action" at the top of the mountain.

GNS vulcanologist Brad Scott said the eruption generated a 2.8-magnitude volcanic quake.

Pilots flying in the area had reported an ash column of about 5000 metres.

"It's below the 15,000 foot level, and rising, so it sounds as though there's been some ash associated with the eruption as well," said GNS Science duty volcanologist Craig Miller.

"The MetService have recorded some signatures from an apparent ash cloud on their radar and aviation authorities are already keeping planes clear of the area," he said.

Skiers staying in lodges on the mountain reported a glow from the mountain top.

Multiple lahars were generated in several catchment areas, including Whakapapa ski-field.

It was described as a "blue-sky" eruption, coming without warning, and went "from nothing to full-on in about a minute", Mr Scott said.

It was similar to eruptions in 1969 and 1975, but smaller than those in 1995 and 1996.

Most ski lodges on the mountain, full of people because of the school holidays, were evacuated.

Many ended up at the Chateau hotel, where the main lounge filled with people wearing skisuits and carrying tired children - while a pianist played Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight.

Ski club member Simon Pleasants said they listened to the piano player play "with aplomb" until they received the all-clear from the police to return to their lodge.

One family decided to stay at the lodge and another, whose small children were scared, went home. Those who returned to the lodge were confident they were safe.

They had not heard the eruption because of the noise the children were making, Mr Pleasants said. "The kids were playing some game and sounded like thunder, I'm not surprised we didn't hear it."

Mr Pleasants did not expect to get on to the ski field today.

"I imagine they'll be doing a lot of checking."

At the same time the ski lodges were evacuated, police closed all roads around the mountain - State Highways 1, 4, 46, 47, 48 and 49 - as part of an action plan developed for the big lahar on March 18, when one side of the crater lake collapsed. All roads reopened about 11.15pm.

Ontrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw the main trunk line was closed after the eruption.

"We were advised by police and we closed the (Tangiwai) bridge. But the eruption was at such a minor level, the bridge was checked and the line reopened at about 11.30pm."

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts general manager Dave Mazey said one lahar had swept down the Far West run on Whakapapa ski-field.

A snow groomer saw the lahar go past and "got a helluva fright".

A group of GNS and Department of Conservation scientists flew over the mountain at first light to take a look at the impact of the eruption.

GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said there were "Impact craters" 1-2 metres wide caused by debris hurled into the air about 1.5km from the crater edge.

The lahars (mud flows) created by the eruption had been minimal, reaching only a short distance down the mountain and not causing any damage on the skifields.

There was no lava in the eruption but the top of the mountain was blackened by mud and ash thrown out of the crater.

Mr Scott said the level of the crater lake had not changed with the eruption and he did not think there was any greater risk of a breach occurring in the crater rim.

Ruapehu District Council mayor Sue Morris said the water intake at National Park had been closed until monitoring of water quality had been completed, but there was plenty of water in storage.

The police say all roads in the area and the main train line, which were closed by the eruption, are open again.

- With NZPA