The first aircraft carrying humanitarian supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday, five days after the South Pacific island nation was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that devastated communities and spoiled most of its drinking water.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules landed at Tonga's Fua'amotu International Airport, a defense spokesperson said, after a blanket of volcanic ash was cleared off the runway.
An Australian Globemaster military transport aircraft also landed.