* Astronomy

A major magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred at 10:39:17 (UTC) on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, in the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, 285 km SouthSouthWest of Raoul Island.
The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 91 km.

Location 31.500°S, 179.300°W

A New Zealand conservation worker was missing and five others were evacuated by helicopter after a volcanic eruption on a remote Pacific island of Raoul Island on Friday.

The long-range Russian-made helicopter, a 25-seat Mil Mi 8 heavy lifter, fitted with long-range fuel tanks that give it a range of about 770 nautical miles, made the marathon flight to Raoul Island in the Kermadec group after the eruption caused a steam and ash plume and spewed mud from a lake.

Six New Zealand Department of Conservation staff work on the island, about 1,000 km northeast of New Zealand and part of a nature reserve.
The Kermadec Islands are a chain stretching about 250 km along the volcanically active Kermadec Trench. It is an area where the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates meet and earthquakes are common.