White Island tragedy: New video emerges in day one of trial

The majority of the victims of the December 2019 disaster were passengers on board the Ovation of the Seas who travelled to the island as part of a tour group.

Video shows a group of about 18 passengers and guides in hard hats standing on an elevated part of the island gasping in awe as grey steam emerges from the top of Whakaari’s crater.

However within seconds the mood changed, with the group breaking out into a run as they realised the seriousness of the situation.

Guides could be heard screaming “run, run” and “come on follow me” as others hid behind large rocks in hope of saving themselves.

Meanwhile a woman was captured tripping onto her knees as the rest of the group sprinted ahead of her.

Screams can be heard as dark ash and burning gases fill the air. Most of the tourists never stood a chance, with just three of the 25 people on the island surviving.

Tuesday marked the first day of an anticipated 16-week trial, with the video one of many to be released after being recovered from victims‘ devices.

Most of the victims were understood to have come from Australia and were allegedly not warned of the tour risks prior to setting foot on the island.

At the time, the island sat at Volcanic Alert level two which is defined as a “moderate to heightened unrest”. This fact was disclosed in another piece of footage shared at the hearing.

“The higher the level, the higher the risk of an eruption,” a guide told a tourist as they walked towards the crater, according to the New Zealand Herald.

“We’re at level two, nearing level three now.”

It’s understood level three is categorised as a “minor volcanic eruption”, with the highest rating level five meaning there’s a chance of seeing a major volcanic eruption, according to GeoNet.

The owners of the island as well as their company are on trial following the incident, and are facing charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA).

Acting for WorkSafe, lawyer Kristy McDonald KC said they failed to take adequate steps to prevent serious injury or death, with some of the group already pleading guilty to other charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle jointly own the island which has been passed down in their family since 1936, with their company Whakaari Management Ltd (WML) also on trial.

They have denied wrongdoing.

“The businesses making their money from tours on to the volcano had clear duties under HSWA,” Ms McDonald said.

“They failed to comply with those duties, and the end result was that tourists and workers went to the crater of an active volcano without being advised properly of the risk.”

On behalf of WorkSafe, Ms McDonald added the brothers and the company failed to properly assess the risk the volcano posed to tourists venturing to the island, with little evacuation measures in place for such traumatic events.

“The limited things WML did in terms of infrastructure fell well short of their duty to ensure there was an adequate mechanism for evacuation,” Ms McDonald said.

“Profit should never come before safety,” she added, noting the company made an annual profit of $1 million.

Also facing trial are businesses Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd and ID Tours New Zealand LTD, which had exclusivity agreements to operate tours on Whakaari.

Ms McDonald said these businesses in addition to WML failed their duty to inform guests of the risks of visiting the island.

“Information regarding cancellations due to weather or information for invoicing purposes passed through the supply chain successfully. Safety information was not given the same attention,” she said.

“The case is not that the information received was inadequate. Those passengers did not receive any information in terms of volcanic activity.”

It’s anticipated more evidence will be shared as the trial continues for the next four months.