Whakaari / White Island Tragedy: 13 Charges Filed by WorkSafe

WorkSafe has filed charges against 13 parties in connection with the Whakaari / White Island eruption that killed 22 people, according to reports.

Worksafe will hold a press conference today at 3 pm to publicize the findings of its investigation.

Ten parties face charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and face a maximum fine of $ 1.5 million, reports TVNZ.

Three individuals have been charged as directors or individuals who were required to exercise due diligence to ensure the company meets its health and safety obligations.

Each of those charges carries a maximum fine of $ 300,000.

TVNZ reported that the accused parties will appear in Auckland District Court on December 15.

Forty-seven people were on the island when it erupted on December 9 last year, and 22 later died from their injuries.

Nineteen tourists and two tour guides from White Island Tours were among the dead after the volcanic island erupted below them during a sightseeing tour.

Many more would have died were it not for the heroic actions of tour guides, fellow tourists, helicopter pilots who flew to the island on an unauthorized rescue mission, and then the work of specialized medical teams.

Tourists have not returned to the island since.

WorkSafe confirmed the day after the tragedy that it had launched its own investigation.

In a statement at the time, the department said: “WorkSafe New Zealand has opened a health and safety investigation into the damage and loss of life caused by the eruption.

“As the regulator of workplace health and safety and administrator of adventure activities, regulations, WorkSafe will investigate and consider all relevant occupational health and safety issues related to this tragic event.”

Under the law, WorkSafe can take legal action for violations of health and safety regulations. Fines and penalties range from $ 50,000 to $ 3 million and jail sentences of up to five years.

WorkSafe had overall oversight of tourism operations on the volcanic island off the Bay of Plenty coast.

Under regulations introduced in 2016, it required companies such as White Island Tours and the large number of helicopter companies offering trips to the island to undergo security audits.

But he could not dictate access to the island as it was privately owned.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also said that WorkSafe would also be reviewing its own regulatory framework in light of the disaster.

“Did operators meet expectations around health and safety audits, etc.? The question may well be whether the regimen itself was adequate and WorkSafe did the job,” Ardern said.

In June it was revealed that the WorkSafe investigation team included 27 staff members.

Six months after the eruption, NZME also revealed that a former police sergeant and Whakatāne district councilor said he had expressed concern for tourists on White Island prior to the deadly eruption.

Emails provided to NZME and an interview with Russell Orr, who served 21 years in the police force before serving as a councilor for the Whakatāne District Council between 2004 and 2019, showed that he was concerned as early as 2013.

An email from then showed that he asked council staff to make sure the risks are “fully passed on” to tourists, fishermen and other visitors to the island.

Orr requested in an email: “If the risk is ‘unacceptable’ that business and economic issues do not prevent us from making the obvious decisions necessary to protect lives.”

On January 25, 2013, a private meeting that included police, Civil Defense, GNS Science, and staff from the Whakatāne District Council addressed security issues.

Orr told NZME that, as far as he knew, no action had been taken after the meeting.

“Informally they told me [by council staff] The council had no jurisdiction, which was not in our area. “

On October 17 it revealed that numerous attorneys in Australia and the United States had been hired by survivors from White Island and family and friends of some of the 21 people who died.

Sydney-based attorney Rita Yousef confirmed that she had two confirmed clients and was also approached by others affected by the tragedy, including some still receiving hospital care, who want to sue Royal Caribbean Group.

Most of those killed or injured in the eruption were on a New Zealand sightseeing trip on the company’s Ovation of the Seas ship. Royal Caribbean Group is the second largest cruise operator in the world.

The crux of the case will be in the level of warnings that passengers received from the ship’s crew before signing up for the tour.

“As far as I know, there were no warnings about possible eruptions,” Yousef said.

“The only warning I know they were given was that the terrain could be a bit rough. People with mobility issues were discouraged and told to wear closed shoes.

“Other than that, there were no warnings about the risk of rash and injury [from the cruise company]. “

The claims were limited to Royal Caribbean Group. That was because those who participated in the fateful trip were understood to have purchased their tickets directly from the cruise line, and not from Whakatāne-based White Island Tours.

What happened to those who had ventured onto White Island was extremely traumatizing, he said.

“Every time my mind turns to what those people would have suffered, it’s absolutely horrible,” Yousef said.

“Basically being burned alive, people watching others melt before their eyes. And not to mention the respiratory problems they would have experienced just inhaling all the gases and vapors.”

“People think that burns affect the skin and cause scars, but internal injuries are also horrible – injuries that many people can never really overcome.”

During her unsuccessful election campaign, National Party leader Judith Collins had called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the White Island tragedy.

I think it should have that level of oversight, and I think people would probably be very grateful if the prime minister announced it, “Collins said.

“If I am lucky enough to be the next prime minister, I will certainly announce it, if it is not done before then.”