Chances missed to tackle White Island safety after accident
Visitor’s foot plunged through the earth into boiling mud, but the tour continued, writes George Block.
A woman burned on an expedition to Whakaari / White Island in 2011 says a golden opportunity was missed to improve safety on trips to the volcano.
Keira Togneri, who lives in Abderdeen, Scotland, has told of the moment her foot plunged through the earth into boiling mud during a tour on Whakaari.
Guides on the White Island Tours trip did not carry first aid kits, there were no burns dressings on the boat, and the company allowed the tour to continue as she waited for medical care, she said.
She came forward after it was revealed Maritime NZ had previously told the company to improve its safety before the eruption, which killed 21 people.
Togneri was on the holiday of a lifetime when she signed up for an expedition with White Island Tours on December 21, 2011.
During the voyage, a glib comment by staff about the dangers of the volcano raised eyebrows, and her concerns mounted when the group transferred to shore on inflatable boats without being given life jackets, she said.
They started their walk with two guides, one of whom Togneri said was new and seemed inexperienced.
The guide went at the head of the group while the more experienced staffer was at the rear.
As they traversed the rocky ground, the guide at the back of the group radioed her colleague saying she should change direction because the way ahead was unsafe.
The guide changed tack and walked across what looked like a dried up riverbed.
Togneri followed, assuming she would be safe to walk in her footsteps.
‘‘As I walked across, my foot literally just plunged through the surface and into this bubbling hot mud.
‘‘If you imagine putting your finger through the top of the crust of a pie, that’s basically what it was like for my foot. ‘‘I heard everybody gasping behind me.’’ The guides did not have a first aid kit but poured water from a drink bottle on her leg.
Togneri hobbled back to the wharf as the rest of the group continued their tour.
She was met by a company manager who offered a bucket of seawater for her leg but did not have burns dressings, she said.
‘‘I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t take my foot out of the water, it was stinging too badly.’’
Togneri waited on the wharf for 90 minutes while the tour continued.
When she arrived back on dry land in Whakatane little help was forthcoming, she said.
A company bus driver offered to take her back to Rotorua, but only after he had dropped everyone
off.It was five hours before she received treatment for the burn at hospital.
She spent the remainder of her time in New Zealand hobbling to medical appointments every couple of days and her leg became infected.
Togneri cut her trip short and flew back to the United Kingdom.
At the time, she wanted to pursue legal action. ‘‘You expect some level of risk when you go to a live volcano, but I don’t think I realised the extent of the risk.
‘‘I felt this was exceptional and that the actions of the company had been unsafe and it had failed to get me the proper medical treatment.’’
But her insurer found it was cheaper to pay her compensation, given the expense of conducting a legal battle from the other side of the world, she said.
Eight years on, she was horrified to hear reports of deaths on a New Zealand volcano, and suspected immediately White Island Tours was involved.
She worries regulators missed a key opportunity to improve safety after her experience.
Peter and Jenny Tait, the Whakatane couple who owned the company at the time of the incident in 2011, did not respond to a request for comment.
White Island Tours is now owned by Ngati Awa, who bought the business from the Taits in 2017 for $9 million.
The company said in an email the incident happened more than eight years ago and did not relate to its current operation.
‘‘We therefore hold no records on this incident or changes that may have been implemented immediately following.’’
WorkSafe NZ did not exist in 2011, but has absorbed the functions of the Department of Labour team responsible for investigating such incidents at the time.
A spokeswoman said any questions about the incident would need to be treated as Official Information Act requests, which have a deadline of 20 working days.
The regulator refused to say whether it was looking into Togneri’s incident as part of its investigation into the 2019 eruption.