WELLINGTON – A New Zealand tour company pleaded guilty today to health and safety charges following an investigation into the Whakaari White Island eruption in 2019 that killed 22 people, reported German news agency dpa.
WorkSafe New Zealand charged White Island Tours in relation to its failure to conduct adequate risk assessments and implement controls to ensure the risk of serious injury and death to tourists and workers was reduced.
Of the 22 people who died, 19 were customers of White Island Tours and two were employees, WorkSafe said. A further 19 customers and two employees were injured.
“The significance of these pleas can’t be understated. The survivors and the families of those tourists and workers who died or were seriously harmed will carry this impact for the rest of their lives. They are always at the front of our minds,” WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes said.
“We hope the decision of White Island Tours will provide some assurance to the survivors, family, and whānau (family) of those who passed that those who had a duty to ensure their safety and failed to do so are being held to account.”
Whakaari, New Zealand’s most active volcano, lies 48km offshore from Whakatane, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. There were 47 people sightseeing on the privately owned island when the volcano erupted in December 2019.
A 64-year-old German man died in July 2020 from medical complications while receiving treatment for injuries he sustained during the eruption. Three other German tourists were injured in the eruption. – Bernama, June 15, 2023
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