To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
The managers of a volcanic island in New Zealand have been found guilty of breaching health and safety law after 22 people died in an eruption.
A further 25 people were seriously injured, with several being left with agonising burns, when superheated steam and ash burst out from White Island – also known as Whakaari – in 2019.
More than a dozen tour operators were put on trial over three months this year, with six pleading guilty and six having charges against them dropped.
Whakaari Management Ltd., the holding company for the island’s owners, was the final remaining defendant.
Judge Evangelos Thomas found the firm guilty on one charge, saying no risk assessment had been done despite it being aware of an eruption that took place three years earlier.
Nobody had been injured in the earlier incident, as it took place at night.
The judge said Whakaari Management should have sought expert guidance, and either stopped the tours or put controls in place.
A second charge against the company was dismissed.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Matt and Lauren Urey were newly married when they travelled to Whakaari
Lauren Urey, 35, was among those who testified at the trial.
She and her husband Matt, both from Richmond in the US state of Virginia, survived the explosion after they hid behind rocks.
Lauren told the judge: ‘I remember me screaming in agony. My body was sizzling.
‘I said, “I love you so much. I’m going to die today.”‘
Some visitors were believed to be on the rim of the crater in the moments before the eruption took place (Picture: Reuters)
The organisations that pleaded guilty will be sentenced in February, with each facing a maximum fine of 1.5 million New Zealand dollars (£720,750).
They included three companies that operated helicopter tours, one that operated boat tours, a scenic flight operator, and New Zealand scientific agency GNS Science.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.