New footage of tourists on Whakaari White Island during the 2019 eruption that killed 22 people has been shown during the trial against the island owners and tour operators.
The video was filmed by one of about 18 tourists and guides closest to the active volcano crater in northern New Zealand just seconds before it erupted on Dec. 9, 2019.
The short clip begins as the group pulls out their phones to take pictures of a gray steam and ash cloud that had erupted from the volcano.
As the tourists stood in awe, one of the guides immediately realized the danger the group was in and started shouting, ‘Come on guys, follow me. Let’s go!’
An American tourist joined in and started to say “move, move, move” to the group.
Footage taken by a tourist near the volcanic crater on Whakaari White Island as it erupted was shown in court on Tuesday (pictured shows tourists taking photos of the eruption before being told to ‘run’)
Panic set in and the group began running out of the crater, hiding behind large rocks in hopes of saving themselves as the cloud expanded, exposing them to temperatures of up to 100°C.
Of the 47 people on the island, 22 died, including 17 Australians.
Krystal Browitt was the first Australian confirmed dead in the eruption.
Her father, Paul, later died from his injuries, while her sister, Stephanie Browitt, suffered severe burns and shared her difficult recovery online.
Most of the visitors to the island came from the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas which docked in the nearby town of Tauranga.
Tuesday was the first day of WorkSafe New Zealand’s criminal proceedings against several parties involved in organizing tours of the island.
This includes island owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle. The volcano has been owned by their family since 1936.
The brothers’ company, Whakaari Management Ltd (WML), is also on trial with WorkSafe lawyer Kristy McDonald for failing to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA).
The poignant footage shows the tour group running out of the crater as the volcanic ash spreads (above)
The volcano on Whakaari White Island erupted on December 9, 2019, killing 22 people – including 17 Australians (circled, visitors run from the cloud of volcanic ash)
WML sold exclusivity deals from companies to run island tours.
WorkSafe accused WML of putting profit before safety and of not properly informing tourists about the risks of visiting the volcano.
Even worse, it alleges that the brothers and WML had no effective evacuation plan and a chance for the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences to conduct a risk assessment of the site was turned down.
“The limited things WML did in terms of infrastructure fell short of their duty to provide an adequate mechanism for evacuation,” Ms McDonald told the court, the NZ announces reports.
“Profit should never come before safety.”
Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd and ID Tours New Zealand Ltd were a key part of the tour supply chain to the island – including the Ovation of the Seas cruise.
Ms McDonald claimed the companies failed to warn tourists of the dangers of visiting the volcano.
At the time of the eruption, the volcano was under level two volcanic alert, defined as “moderate to elevated unrest.” The highest level is five.
A guide was heard telling one of the visitors to the island about the warning on the day of the eruption.
Tuesday marked the first day of WorkSafe New Zealand’s criminal trial against several parties involved in organizing tours of the island (pictured, WorkSafe lawyer Kristy McDonald)
Island owners, brothers Andrew (left), James and Peter Buttle (right), face criminal charges
“The higher the level, the greater the risk of an eruption,” the guide said as the group headed toward the crater.
“We are now on level two, almost on level three.”
Ms McDonald said ‘cancellations’ and ‘billing information’ were successfully given to visitorssafety information was not given the same attention’.
“The case is not that the information received was inadequate,” she said.
“Those passengers have not been given any information about volcanic activity.”
Ms McDonald claims several Ovation passengers have said they would not have visited the island had they understood the risks.
The trial is expected to last 16 weeks. Several parties have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.