Countdown to Disaster: The Eruption of White Island
Experience the days, minutes, and seconds leading up to the 2019 White Island Eruption that killed 22 people through the eyes of survivors, rescue workers and the scientists who have been studying the volcano for years.
Countdown to Disaster: The Eruption of White Island examines the days, minutes, and seconds leading up to the 2019 explosion that killed 22 people.
As witnessed through the eyes of the people who were there, many of whom are only now coming out of hospital, and through the rescue workers who risked their own lives, plus the scientists who have been studying the volcano for years and know it intimately, Countdown to Disaster tells of a natural disaster no-one saw coming, yet was completely avoidable.
At 2:11pm on December 9, 2019, day trippers to a Volcanic Isle in the middle of the Bay of Plenty learnt the hard way that nature can be unpredictable and dangerous.
The deadly White Island eruption killed 22 people and left 26 more with life changing injuries - some victims still in intensive care months after the tragedy.
Countdown to Disaster is the first full-length documentary to recount the tragic volcanic eruption and interrogate whether this disaster was avoidable.
Year: 2020
Director: Alex Clark
Executive Producers: Richard Fletcher, Brendan Dahill, David Alrich
Broadcaster: ABC (Aus), TVNZ (NZ)
International Sales: Abacus Media Rights
Genre: Factual Series
Release Date: 9 December 2020 (NZ)
Duration: 48 mins
