An inquest heard yesterday of lifelong injuries and years of grief from survivors and family members of those who died in a massive volcanic eruption on New Zealand’s northern island in 2019.
About 47 people were on White Island, also known in Maori language as Whakaari, in December 2019 when a deadly column of burning ash and steam blasted from a volcanic vent.
Twenty-two people died and nearly all the survivors were left with horrific burns.
Photo: Michael Schade, EPA-EFE
The eruption off the coast of the country’s North Island prompted a massive medical operation, with many victims treated in burns units in Australia and New Zealand. Since then, no boat or aircraft tours have been allowed to land on the island.
Almost six years on, an inquest is seeking to assess the emergency response that day — as well as regulatory oversight of tours to the volcano — and propose changes.
The opening day of the inquiry was held in the small coastal town of Whakatane, where rescue efforts at the time of the eruption were based.
The eruption “left a wake of destruction and trauma which went far beyond the geographic boundary of Whakaari,” Constable Leanne Fairbairn said in a statement on behalf of the bereaved families and survivors of the eruption.
“Many describe their life as ‘pre-eruption’ and ‘post-eruption.’ The impact and effects of the eruption will always be felt,” she said.
Many survivors, once avid hikers and nature lovers, are now unable to do the activities they once cherished, with their injuries requiring ongoing medical care and limiting their daily lives, she said.
“I am my own memorial to that day,” she quoted one survivor as saying. “But unlike any physical monument or statue, I can never walk away from it.”
Another survivor described losing their partner and child to the eruption and their deep loneliness over the ensuing years.
Many described the pain of their burns, the months and years spent in treatment, the burden on extended family, and the loss of dignity and self-esteem.
Speaking of the stigma associated with the disaster and the intense media attention on the case, one survivor said: “I am often referred to as the volcano guy, which is frustrating.”
“I don’t want to be defined by the worst day of my life,” they said.
“No longer could they live quiet, peaceful lives,” Fairbairn said. “Instead, they were suddenly the attention of international media interest.”
Many of the families involved “will never be whole again,” Fairbairn said. “All they ask is that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Some were scathing of the industry that had sprung up around tours to the volcano and condemned the money that was made while putting visitors in danger.
The inquest is expected to last six weeks.
A lawyer representing the bereaved families and survivors said the group hopes the inquest could improve New Zealand’s response to mass casualty disasters.
“The volcano has been erupting for 100 years, but we were not ready,” barrister Anna Adams said. “If plans had been in place to respond would less harm have resulted?”
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