Tonga volcano eruption: New Zealand and Australia send planes to assess tsunami damage

Blanket of ash hinders communications from towns believed to have been inundated by waves as first surveillance flights departs

New Zealand and Australia have sent planes to assess the damage from a huge undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami that hit the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday.

The eruption sent a thick blanket of ash into the sky, contaminating water supplies, cutting off communications and initially preventing surveillance flights assessing the extent of damage.