News – Extreme Pursuit

White Island Eruption

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 admin 0 Comment Breaking News, Volcano

White Island, New Zealand / December 2019

At exactly 2.11pm on Dec 9, an unforeseen phreatic eruption occurred on White Island. Tragically, a number of tourists were in the direct impact zone at the time of the eruption. At present, eight people have died, a further eight are missing (presumed dead) and 31 are critically injured in hospital.

I have been deeply saddened by this tragedy and my thoughts and sympathies are with the families of those impacted. R.I.P. to those who perished – many of which would have been their first – and tragically their last visit to an active volcano.

Expedition Guatemala

August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 admin 0 Comment Storms, Volcano

Guatemala / August 2019

Guatemala, you put on an out-of-this-world show for us! Eruptions, lava flows and a spine-chilling electrical storm.

A couple weeks back, we arrived in Guatemala to explore the volcanoes of Fuego and Pacaya. We ended up getting caught up in a massive electrical storm which made global headlines. We’re all safe and back home.

Classic South Island Snow Storm

June 1, 2019July 5, 2019 admin 0 Comment Storms

Lewis Pass, New Zealand / June 2019

This season’s winter has been particularly mild, but with a South Island snow storm on the way, we jumped on a plane bound for Christchurch, picked up a 4×4 and headed towards the Lewis Pass where we hunkered down and waited for the storm to arrive.

It didn’t take long for the fun destroying cone deployers to be out in force, closing the road. We did however get a good dumping of snow, turning the Lewis Pass into a winter wonderland. Magic!

Ongoing earthquake swarm near White Island, NZ

May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 admin 0 Comment Earthquake, Volcano

A swarm of earthquakes near White Island, New Zealand started on May 23 and have continued for over a week. More than 400 earthquakes have been recorded with the largest magnitude of 3.9 recorded on May 25 at 18:16:14 UTC.

Post Ambrym Eruption Expedition

April 25, 2019July 5, 2019 admin 0 Comment Volcano

Ambrym Island, Vanuatu / April 2019

As documented previously, unprecedented geological events unfolded on Ambrym Island in December 2018 which ultimately brought about the destruction of the famed lava lakes.

In April, we led the first expedition by foot to witness the dramatic changes. It’s hard to express what has unfolded up there. The intra-caldera area is hardly recognisable.

Ambrym Island’s famed lava lakes lost

March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 admin 1 Comment Uncategorized

Ambrym Island, Vanuatu / March 2019

The volcanic island of Ambrym, Vanuatu is certainly a wonder of the world. There isn’t another place like it anywhere on our planet. Two imposing cones rise from the desert-like caldera, both churning with molten rock.

I have made descents within both Marum and Benbow’s cones on multiple expeditions. Anyone venturing this close to the blazing lava has felt a blazing sense of mother nature’s disinterest in us. But then it all changed…

Unprecedented geological events unfolded in December 2018 which ultimately brought about the destruction of the famed lava lakes.

Anak Krakatau – Cone collapse and tsunami

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018 admin 0 Comment Breaking News

A large part of the south-western cone of Krakatau appears to have given way. This and probable collapses undersea have caused a massive displacement of water.

One theory suggests this resulted from recent lava flows combining with accumulated material over many decades. This created a tipping point and ultimately caused the collapse. This may have exposed the conduit (the plumbing of the volcano), allowing sea water to enter and therefore causing the huge eruptive plume.

Many readers have asked to see what a large eruption could be like – we filmed this back in October.

Anak Krakatau Eruption Expedition

October 20, 2018November 23, 2018 admin 0 Comment Breaking News, Volcano

Anak Krakatau, Indonesia / October 2018

We’re back from our Indonesian expedition – to get as close as possible to the violently erupting Anak Krakatau. We had huge lava bombs crashing down on us and observed impressive vulcanian eruptions. The volcano wasn’t the only hazard – we had to contend with Komodo Dragons, pythons and landslides.

View our expedition report and footage here

Hawaii’s Kilauea eruption and lava flows

May 28, 2018October 8, 2018 admin 0 Comment Volcano

Leilani Estates, Big Island, Hawaii / May 2018

On May 3rd, 2018, a fissure opened up in Leilani Estates (Puna District, Big Island) releasing lava. Over the coming days, more fissures opened up, spewing large volumes of lava skyward. Lava soon began to accumulate and flow towards the ocean. There have been at least three separate ocean entries to date. Fissure 8 continues to be the most vigorous, with fire fountaining extending beyond 200ft.

Extreme Pursuit made the journey to Leilani and captured some extraordinary footage. View here.

Vanuatu: Extremes of Earth Expedition (HOT)

April 4, 2018June 4, 2018 admin 0 Comment Volcano

Three days after returning from Antarctica, we repacked and headed to the hottest place on the planet – inside one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, Mt. Yasur. This was part of a challenge (and documentary that is being filmed) to visit the coldest and hottest places on Earth within a week.

View our expedition report here

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