Morning Report

Police believe there are no survivors on Whakaari/ White Island after an eruption yesterday and are working urgently to confirm the exact number of people who have died.

Twenty-three people were evacuated from the island after the eruption just after 2pm on Monday afternoon, five of whom have since died.

Eight people are still missing, including New Zealanders and overseas tourists, some from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.

John Baker spent 30 years operating a fishing and diving business near Whakaari/White Island, and has been in the vicinity during five eruptions.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

Bodies have been sighted on Whakaari/White island by reconnaissance flights this morning.

Five people were confirmed dead yesterday, as of Tuesday morning eight people are still missing another 31 are in hospital In a news conference it was confirmed there were two explosions in quick succession.

There were two groups on the island at the time of the eruptions.

The missing and injured includes people from New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, China, and Malaysia.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to Kim Hill.

Russia's sports minister Pavel Kolobkov maintains it's done everything possible to try and resolve its doping scandal, after the country was banned from the world's top sporting events for four years for tampering with laboratory data.

The former Labour MP who publicly exposed fraud at the Ministry of Transport is surprised the former Auditor-General Martin Matthews is relitigating his role.

Martin Matthews was chief executive at the ministry before moving on to become Auditor-General.

He resigned from that role in 2017, just hours before the release of a highly critical report into his handling of fraud committed by Joanne Harrison under his watch at the Ministry of Transport.

He is now petitioning Parliament to reopen his case, claiming MPs "held a gun to his head" to force his resignation. .

Sue Moroney was one of the people who brought Ms Harrison's fraud to light and who supported ministry staff who lost their jobs after trying to blow the whistle on Harrison's offending.

Whakatāne is quiet in the wake of the eruption of Whakaari/White Island, which has left five dead and a further eight missing.

Police say there are no signs of life on the island.

RNZ reporter Katie Scotcher has been speaking to people in the town.

The lobby group Waterfront 2029 is applauding the government's announcement that Auckland's port needs to move.

The Prime Minister says it's no longer viable for the car and container port to remain in Auckland's CBD, but has not said where it should move.

A relocation is estimated to cost $10 billion and would be New Zealand's most ambitious infrastructure project ever.

Michael Goldwater is from Waterfront 2029.

Four percent of people experience nearly half of all crime each year.

The Justice Ministry has just published its latest report from the Crime and Victim Survey looking at this group, called the "highly victimised cohort", which reveals they are most likely to be young, Māori and single.

Jonathan Mitchell has more.

Travellers trapped in Timaru after floods closed State Highway 2 on Saturday were able to resume their journeys yesterday when an alternative inland route opened.

RNZ reporter Tess Brunton is in Timaru.

Three days ahead of schedule, the road south out of Franz Josef will open from two o'clock this afternoon to allow around 1000 stranded tourists to finally leave town.

The guided convoy is strictly for those leaving with only essential vehicles such as those carrying feed for cows and milk tankers, allowed in from the other direction.

Conan Young is in Franz Josef.

Whakaari/White Island has erupted, leaving five people dead.

Twenty-three people were evacuated from the island on Monday afternoon and eight were left behind.

Police say there are no more signs of life on the island.

RNZ reporter Andrew McRae is on the waterfront at Whakatāne.