* White Island or Whakaari volcano, located in the Bay of Plenty off New Zealand's North Island, erupted at 2.11pm local time (1211 AEDT) on Monday, sending up a huge plume of ash and steam 3600m into the sky

* Two tour groups, comprising 47 people, were on site, some by the crater, others making their way down

* Five people are dead, three of them believed to be Australian

* Eight are missing on the island

* 31 people are being treated, some in critical condition, and three were discharged overnight

* The tourists are from Australia, the US, Britain, China and Malaysia; many came from the cruise liner Ovation of the Seas which was sailing from Sydney to Auckland

* Search by a helicopter has seen no signs of life; recovery operations will not take place until experts say it is safe to do so; the island is currently covered in ash

* White Island is NZ's most active volcano and is often visited by tour groups from Whakatane

* NZ's Geonet had warned of increased activity for weeks.

Australian Associated Press