Tourists received no safety warnings before New Zealand volcano eruption killed 22, prosecutor says

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

A New Zealand prosecutor says tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on the country’s most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people. There were 47 people on White Island when superheated gases erupted, and most of the 25 who survived had severe burns. Prosecutor Kristy McDonald told the court as a trial opened Tuesday that the eruption at the popular tourist destination was not predictable but was foreseeable. The island’s owners, their management company and two tour operators are on trial in Auckland District Court for allegedly failing to adequately protect tourists and staff. Each of the companies could be fined up to $927,000.