Company Found Guilty in Volcano Disaster That Killed 22

New Zealand company belongs to brothers who own the island on which the volcano sits
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 1, 2023 1:28 AM CDT
Company Found Guilty in Volcano Disaster
Tourists on a boat look at the eruption of the volcano on White Island, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 2019.   (Michael Schade via AP, File)

In the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's workplace safety regulator, a company that licenses tours to White Island was on Tuesday found guilty of violating safety laws in the 2019 volcano disaster that left 22 people, mostly tourists, dead and another 25 injured. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was one of 13 entities charged over the tragedy and was the last of those to receive a verdict, the BBC reports; half of the others had pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing hearings next year, while the other half saw their charges ultimately dismissed. WML was convicted of "not minimizing risk" to those who were on the island when the volcano erupted, and faces fines of up to $928,000.

As the Guardian explains, WML is the holding company for the three brothers who own the island, and the judge in the case criticized what he called "astonishing failures" considering the "obvious risks" of the volcano, which had been erupting in some form for the eight years prior to the disaster. "It should have been no surprise that Whakaari could erupt at any time, and without warning, at the risk of death and serious injury," he said. Multiple survivors testified at the trial that they were not adequately warned about the risks of visiting the volcano, which is known by its Maori name of Whakaari, and where tourism activities have not resumed since the tragedy. (More New Zealand stories.)

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