Volcano Erupts In New Zealand
CABRERA: Officials in New Zealand are starting to release the names of the victims of the White Island eruption that killed 16 people and more still feared dead. But the challenge of getting to the island, even by air, is overwhelming. CNN's Will Ripley managed to take a flight over the terrain this week. Here's what he saw.</s>WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We're about to get our first up-close look at White Island, the active volcano that erupted on Monday killing a number of people. Many of them are still missing on the island right now. And this helicopter is flown by pilots who actually went to the island after the eruption. It was called the rogue rescue. They didn't have permission. They didn't have authorization. But they went to the island anyway, risking their lives in dangerous conditions. And they saved lives that day. If you guys hadn't gone out there, what do you think would have happened?</s>MARK LAW, HELICOPTER PILOT: None of them would have lived.</s>RIPLEY: They would have all died?</s>LAW: Yes. I'm confident about that.</s>RIPLEY (voice-over): Mark Law was the lead pilot on that dangerous rescue mission to White Island just moments after Monday's eruption. Flying over the volcanic crater, ash still billowing, he saw people desperately in need of help.</s>LAW: The people who were horrendously burned, their faces all covered in dust and their mouths were just full of dirt. You could just tell they were in incredible pain.</s>RIPLEY (on camera): This is going to be a really powerful moment for us, because it's the first time we actually see White Island up close since this horrific tragedy. And to know that there are still people who are there and the conditions are too dangerous to go and retrieve their bodies. Don't really know what to expect. (voice-over): My first thought, as we approach White Island, how striking, how beautiful. Soon, I remember all the people lying there, somewhere beneath that billowing plume of white smoke. Rescuers still unable to reach their bodies. It's heartbreaking.</s>LAW: It's gutting. We were going back to get the folks that had passed, and we could have done it. We wouldn't have to, you know, wait and worry and wonder. You know, it's gutting.</s>RIPLEY (on camera): It's got to be frustrating.</s>LAW: It's really frustrating.</s>RIPLEY: You want to get back out there.</s>LAW: Yes. Yes, we do.</s>RIPLEY (voice-over): But will they ever be able to go back? Should they go back? This area's livelihood depends on White Island tourism. Thousands visit each year. Around a century without a single death. That doesn't change what happened. It doesn't change the fact that so many people will never go home. Will Ripley, CNN, Whakatane, New Zealand.</s>CABRERA: Coming up, new reporting about the president's state of mind as the full House heads towards an historic impeachment vote.