AKIPRESS.COM - New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, White Island, has erupted on Monday with dozens of tourists present. At least 20 people were injured and several are unaccounted for, Guardian reports.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said the situation on White Island, which is off the eastern coast of the North Island, was “significant and evolving”. She said about 100 people were believed to have been on or around the island at the time of the eruption, but police later said the number was fewer than 50.

Ardern said a number were “currently unaccounted for” and some had been injured.

The police said some people had been brought to the mainland from the island and one person was critically injured. A statement from police confirmed several people who were on the island at the time of the eruption had not been located.

A level four alert was issued for the volcano, also known by its Māori name Whakaari, indicating a “moderate volcanic eruption,” according to the science agency GeoNet. The scale runs from zero to five – a major eruption.