Verdict for Whakaari Management trial expected

Whakaari/White Island as seen from the shore on the day of the fatal eruption. Photo: SunLive/File.

Auckland District Court is today expected to release its verdict on the sole company left facing health and safety charges relating to the Whakaari/White Island disaster.

The December 2019 eruption killed 22 people.

Judge Evangelos Thomas will deliver a verdict on whether the island's owners, through the company Whakaari Management, put workers and tourists at undue risk.

It's the only company still awaiting a verdict after six other parties pleaded guilty and six had charges dismissed.

WorkSafe initially charged 13 individuals and organisations in 2020, and the trial began in July after a series of last-minute guilty pleas.

Whakaari had been a popular tourist attraction before the eruption. WorkSafe's case was that Whakaari Management put profits ahead of safety.

The company's lawyer argued it was the landowner, nothing more.

-RNZ.

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