A paramedic who was on board a rescue helicopter that landed on New Zealand's White Island after this week's volcanic eruption has described the scene as like something out of "the Chernobyl mini-series".
Senior medics rushed to the island to search for survivors on foot after the volcano erupted but after half an hour concluded there could be no survivors.
Intensive care paramedic Rusty Clark was on board a rescue helicopter from Auckland when it landed on the active volcano.
He stayed inside the helicopter as two experienced senior medical clinicians disembarked and searched for survivors.
He told TVNZ: "When we got there it was quite a experience, it was like a scene from the Chernobyl mini-series everything was just blanketed in ash.
"Everything was just blanketed in ash, it was an overwhelming feeling, there was a helicopter on the island, that had obviously been there at the time, with its rotor blades off it.
"It's quite a shocking experience we suppose, but we have to put that aside for now and get on with what we're doing."
Mr Clark said two medics who disembarked and searched for survivors had to duck to escape ash whipped up by the helicopter's rotor blades.
They spent 30 to 40 minutes on the island and believe they "possibly" encountered bodies of some of the victims, according to Mr Clark.
Five people died at the time of the blast or soon after, while a sixth person died Tuesday night at an Auckland hospital. Another eight people are believed to have died.
Experts say there is a 50 per cent chance of another small eruption within a day.
