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3 companies plead guilty in connection with 2019 New Zealand volcano eruption

Three companies entered guilty pleas Friday for deaths connected with the eruption of the White Island (Whakaari) volcano in New Zealand in 2019. File Photo by Michael Schade/UPI
Three companies entered guilty pleas Friday for deaths connected with the eruption of the White Island (Whakaari) volcano in New Zealand in 2019. File Photo by Michael Schade/UPI

July 7 (UPI) -- Three companies charged in connection with the 2019 Whakaari White Island volcano eruption where 22 people were killed have entered guilty pleas on Friday for not keeping staff and tourists safe.

Helicopter operators Volcanic Air Safaris Ltd., Aerius Ltd., and Kahu NZ Ltd. pleaded guilty to amended charges in Auckland District Court on Friday, ahead of a trial.

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"The survivors, and the family and whanau of those who passed, will be in many people's thoughts today," WorkSafe Chief Executive Phil Parkes said in a statement. "Whakaari was an absolute tragedy, and we remember everyone who was impacted.

"These pleas acknowledge the processes that should have been in place to look after people's health and safety on the day Whakaari erupted."

In November 2020, New Zealand charged 10 organizations and three people following an investigation that focused on activity on the island at the time of the eruption on Dec. 9, 2019. WorkSafe officials said those charged failed to meet their obligations under the law when tour operators transported 47 people to the island shortly before it unexpectedly erupted.

The pleas come after one company had its charges dismissed, Inflite Charters, which promoted and sold subcontracted tours to Whakaari, entered a guilty plea in March while the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences pleaded guilty in May. White Island Tours plead guilty in June.

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The other six defendants will go on trial starting Monday in what is expected to last for months.

WorkSafe said it did not investigate the rescue and recovery of victims following the eruption and no enforcement action has been taken. After the eruption, WorkSafe launched a 12-month investigation leading to the charges.

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