The White Island Volcano in New Zealand – which erupted Monday with a towering blast of ash and scalding steam, killing at least five people – is one of New Zealand’s most active volcanoes.

The volcano erupted as tourists were exploring the moon-like surface.

“Our monitoring data shows that there was a short-lived eruption that generated an ash plume to (an estimated) 12,000 feet above the vent,” according to the GeoNet agency,