This coming week, charges laid in the wake of the deadly 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption will be heard at Auckland District Court.
It comes after years of preparation and the trial could last a marathon four months.
The charges only relate to allegations of health and safety failures in the lead up to the eruption. None of them are related to the rescue and recovery of victims following the eruption.
WorkSafe is the charging agency and there are a number of defendants.
22 people died as a result of the disaster and almost all of the survivors suffered severe or critical injuries.
A live stream of the trial is available but only to certain people, including survivors and victim's families.
The stream will be publicly broadcast at Acacia House in Whakatāne so the community there can follow proceedings.
'A hell of an explosion'
Whakaari/White Island erupted at 2.11pm on December 9, 2019.
In the minutes before the blast, tourists could be seen on the GeoNet webcam near the edge of the crater.
Fisherman Dan Harvey, who was off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, was among the first witnesses 1News interviewed that day.
"Looked like a hell of an explosion went on," he said. "I don't know what it's like for people on it, but it didn't look good."
There were 47 people on the island when it erupted, including tourists and guides.
The sudden explosion blanketed the island in ash. Rescue helicopters and boats rushed to help.
In the hours, days and weeks that followed, the scale of the tragedy became clearer and the world was shaken.
The Phoenix crew and passengers did their best to tend the extensive injuries after the 2019 eruption. (Source: 1News)
"I say to those who have lost and grieve, you are forever linked to our nation and we will hold you close," then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in Parliament the day after the eruption, addressing victims.
Ardern also told the House that there would be "bigger questions in relation to this event".
"These questions must be asked and must be answered."
What are the charges?
In November 2020, shortly before the first anniversary of the eruption, WorkSafe laid charges against 13 parties.
Those charges were against 10 organisations and three individuals, for allegedly failing to meet their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 in the lead-up to the eruption. Again, none of the charges relate to events during or after the event.
"This was an unexpected event, but that does not mean it was unforeseeable and there is a duty on operators to protect those in their care," WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes said at the time.
The charges were laid against Whakaari Management Limited and its directors Andrew, James and Peter Buttle; GNS Science; the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); White Island Tours Limited; Volcanic Air Safaris Limited; Aerius Limited; Kahu NZ Limited; Inflite Charters Limited; ID Tours New Zealand Limited; and Tauranga Tourism Services Limited.
Each charge against an organisation carries a maximum fine of $1.5m.
Each charge against an individual carries a maximum fine of $300,000.
Some of the defendants face more than one charge.
Which cases have already been resolved?
Twenty-two people, including 17 Australian tourists, died when the Bay of Plenty volcano sent rock, ash and gas hurtling skywards. (Source: 1News)
NEMA had its charges dismissed in March, and was awarded costs of $40,000.
Inflite Charters, which promoted and sold subcontracted tours to Whakaari, pleaded guilty in March this year and was ordered to pay $267,500 for failing to ensure the health and safety of tourists, even though it had no customers on Whakaari when it erupted.
GNS Science pleaded guilty in May this year, and will not go to trial. GNS is yet to be sentenced and faces a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding $500,000.
White Island Tours pleaded guilty in June, and will not go to trial either.
They are yet to be sentenced and face a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding $1.5 million for each of their two charges.
Of the 22 people who died, 19 were customers of White Island Tours and two were employees.
And on Friday, just days before the trial was set to begin, three more defendants entered last-minute guilty pleas.
They were Volcanic Air Safaris Limited, Aerius Limited and Kahu New Zealand Limited.
Volcanic Air Safaris faces a maximum fine of $1.5 million for each of its two charges, while Aerius and Kahu face maximum fines of $500,000 for their charges. Each of Aerius and Kahu pleaded guilty to two charges.
They are also yet to be sentenced and will not go to trial.
The remaining six defendants will go on trial this week, charged with exposing people to risk of harm under the health and safety act.
In addition, WorkSafe itself was the subject of an independent review relating to the island's eruption.
That 2021 review found the regulator "fell short of good practice in its regulation of activities on Whakaari White Island over the 2014-19 period" and "improvements are needed in WorkSafe's management of the adventure activities system".
Remembering the victims
22 people died in the eruption, many of them tourists, either on the day or later as a result of their injuries.
Among them were Australian Winona Langford and tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman, who were presumed dead after search efforts failed to recover their bodies after the tragedy.
Australian Martin Hollander and his family — Barbara, Berend and Matthew — all died. Barbara and the teenage children were American citizens and Australian permanent residents.
The other fatalities were tour guide Tipene Maangi; Americans Pratap and Mayuri Singh; and Australians Kristine Langford, Anthony Langford, Gavin Dallow, Zoe Hosking, Krystal Browitt, Paul Browitt, Chris Cozad, Karla Matthews, Richard Elzer, Jason Griffiths, Julie Richards, and Jessica Richards.
German man Horst Westenfelder died on July 2, 2020 at an overseas hospital, bringing the death toll to 22.
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