A helicopter pilot whose first day flying solo to Whakaari White Island ended in tragedy has told an Auckland courtroom how he sheltered from the blast underwater, swimming towards a glimmer of light at one point — only for it to disappear again.
Brian Depauw, the prosecution's fourth witness, was a pilot with Volcanic Air Safaris at the time of the fatal December 9, 2019 eruption, which killed 22 people. WorkSafe charges against six defendants are being heard in Auckland District Court over the disaster.
The charges allege health and safety failures in the lead up to the blast. They do not relate to the eruption itself or the events that followed, including the rescue and recovery of victims.
In a video interview filmed at Rotorua Police Station just two days after the eruption, Depauw told an officer there were five people on the helicopter including him when he landed on the island.
Australian tourist Annie Lu said the information provided by tourist operators was no more than that of Hobbiton. (Source: 1News)
"It was a beautiful day, it was the best day actually flying I had so far," he said of the trip over on the day of the blast.
The helicopter remains on Whakaari White Island today, badly damaged and blown off its landing pad by the ash current.
Depauw said that his tour group were all "very excited to be on the island and having a good time" at first.
The tour went largely as normal, Depauw explained. He joked with the customers and with other guides he passed on the track.
"There was no sign of an eruption during our walk," he said. But that changed when the group was about 150 metres from the water.
Depauw heard a "thud" and the normalcy ended.
"I heard my customer say 'should we run' and I looked behind me and saw the plume," he said in the interview.
"I said 'run, run, run to the water' and 'follow me'.
"I remember looking back, and kept running once I saw they were actually following."
Depauw later said he pulled a muscle in his back during the dash to safety. He couldn't remember how he got into the water, but he aimed for a spot near a concrete wall at the island's pier.
"Shelter was number one, water was number two," he said.
"The ash hit us straight away... I went underwater trying to hold my breath as long as I could.
"I couldn't see for a minute or two, it was pure darkness.
"I remember my first reaction was to put the gas mask on but I was underwater anyway."
As ash billowed above, with everything dark, Depauw didn't know where any of his customers were.
“"I said 'run, run, run to the water' and 'follow me'."
At one point, he saw a glimpse of light and swam towards it, but it disappeared.
"I thought I wasn't gonna make it, I thought that was it, I didn't see a way out of it," Depauw said. Then, finally, the water cleared.
"Came up, got some fresh air, probably inhaled quite a bit of ash as well though," he said.
Depauw helped ferry passengers — including his customers — between the pier on the island and the Phoenix, a White Island Tours boat, before staying on the boat to help people. He sought out fresh water to help clean the sulphur and ash off of burned people.
He recalled how victims' "skin was peeling off" as he tried to help them.
On the way back to Whakatāne, Depauw saw helicopters pass by overhead on their way to the island.
Two of his passengers were "pretty much unharmed", he said, while the other two were more severely injured.
As they neared Whakatāne harbour, that's when the emotion hit him for the first time, Depauw said.
But he stayed on the boat and "stayed out of the way" so the people who needed help could get off first after the Phoenix docked.
When he was off, police marked his forehead to show they'd taken his details, Depauw recalled in the video interview.
He drank "about two litres of water" after the initial rush on shore was over, also rinsing his eyes out.
"I was worried I was gonna damage my eyesight [from the ash], but I didn't want to use any water on the boat," he said.
"We were the lucky ones," Depauw said in the interview.
'That's definitely what saved us that day'
Answering questions from WorkSafe's lawyer in court today, Depauw explained that he'd started working for Volcanic Air Safaris about "three to four weeks" before the deadly blast. The day of the eruption was his first solo flight to Whakaari White Island.
"The way I understood it was, there would be some signs and some time to leave the island," he told the court.
He wasn't aware the volcano had erupted in April 2016 when they set out on December 9, 2019.
And Depauw was told he could visit the island at volcanic alert level two, which Whakaari White Island was on at the time.
"Part of the weather check would have been checking the GNS cameras and information which were available and making a call from there if it's safe to go out to the island or not," he told the court. "And we were told to operate from level one to two."
Level three is a minor eruption.
And Depauw still can't recall the moment he actually entered the water.
"It's just a black hole, I'm afraid," he said, believing it was the same moment the ash cloud hit.
Asked about his relative lack of physical injuries, Depauw was clear.
"That's definitely what saved us that day," he said. "The decision to go into the water is what saved us."
At the end of the WorkSafe lawyer's questions, the defence lawyers declined the chance to ask any of their own.
Judge Evangelos Thomas thanked Depauw for his testimony.
"Not just for helping us today but for the help you gave all those on the day," Thomas said.
The case
Whakaari Management Limited and its directors Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, as well as ID Tours New Zealand Limited and Tauranga Tourism Services Limited, are the defendants in the judge-only trial. Judge-only means there is no jury.
Thirteen defendants were originally charged, nearly a year after the eruption.
NEMA had its charges dismissed in March, and was awarded costs of $40,000.
Inflite Charters, GNS Science, White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris Limited, Aerius Limited and Kahu New Zealand Limited have entered guilty pleas. Inflite was ordered to pay $267,500 and the others are yet to be sentenced.
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