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White Island volcanic eruption trial begins
Survivors of the White Island volcanic eruption will soon get their day in court.
The trial opens today with an American honeymoon couple the first tourists set to testify.
They survived severe burns when the White Island (Whakaari) volcano erupted in 2019 during a shore excursion from the Ovation of the Seas ship.
It killed 22 people.
Six companies were defendants include the island’s owners, the Buttle brothers.
Three filed last-minute guilty pleas late last week to avoid a trial.
Facing trial are the Buttle’s Whakaari Management Ltd, ID Tours New Zealand Ltd and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd.
The case was brought by safety agency WorkSafe NZ.
The action relates to the companies’ alleged health and safety failures and negligence.
Other witnesses set to testify include a British helicopter pilot and an Australian tourist.
Fourteen of the dead were Australian, five were American nationals, two were New Zealanders and one was a German tourist.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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