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Thirteen organizations and individuals facing charges in connection with the Whakaari / White Island eruption will not appear in court until March.
Last month, WorkSafe filed charges in connection with the run-up to the eruption, not the rescue and recovery operations that followed.
All 13 parties were due to appear in Auckland District Court on Tuesday, however they requested a postponement to review the evidence and seek legal advice, WorkSafe said.
A new hearing date has been set for March 2021.
READ MORE:
* The future of the Raoul Island DOC workers is uncertain after the Whakaari / White Island eruption
* Whakaari / White Island: A 111,000-person petition calling for charges to be dropped is ‘humiliating’, but the focus must be on families, says pilot
* Whakaari / White Island: support for petition calling for charges against rescue helicopter pilots to be dropped
* Both the pilot and the brother of the Whakaari tour guide against the WorkSafe charges
* White Island Homeowners Charged for Fatal Eruption
* GNS Science, White Island Tours included in 13 WorkSafe prosecutions for the Whakaari / White Island eruption
WorkSafe CEO Phil Parkes previously said that an investigation into the parties found that they were failing to meet their obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2015 by bringing tourists to the island.
“As a nation, we must look at this tragedy and ask ourselves if we are really doing enough to ensure that our mothers, fathers, children, and friends return home safe and sound at the end of each day.
“Now it is up to the judicial system to determine whether or not they did.”
The helicopter / Instagram page
A helicopter in ruins covered in ash after the volcano erupted on White Island on December 9, 2019.
The volcano erupted on December 9, 2019 at 2.11 p.m. Forty-seven people were on the island at the time, 22 of them died. Almost all of the survivors suffered serious or critical injuries.
Since the charges were filed, more than 125,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org calling for the charges against two rescue pilots to be dropped.
Helicopters and Seaplanes Director and Chief Pilot Tim Barrow, along with Kahu NZ CEO Mark Law, saved several lives after the volcano erupted.
The petition also asks Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Law and Barrow.
