First look at Netflix’s Whakaari tragedy doco
Netflix has released a trailer for the upcoming documentary about the tragedy on White Island/Whakaari in December 2019, in which 22 people lost their lives.
The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari is set to be released on December 16. It is directed and produced by Rory Kennedy and executive produced by Ron Howard and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The trailer opens with testimony from survivors, along with footage from the day.
‘‘From the description, it was a nice, easy hike,’’ one man is heard saying. ‘‘They didn’t make it sound dangerous.’’
‘‘I thought, ‘This is it. We’re going to die on our honeymoon’,’’ another man says, holding the hand of his wife.
Interspersed with images of the eruption, rescuers are heard retelling the day’s events.
‘‘Doing nothing wasn’t an option,’’ one says. ‘‘We’re going to do it ourselves,’’ says another.
There were 47 people on White Island/Whakaari at the time of the eruption. Twenty-two people died and an additional 25 were injured, with the majority severely burned.
The event led to WorkSafe filing numerous charges against 13 individuals and organisations.
Whakaari owners Andrew, James and Peter Buttle and Whakaari Management Ltd, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, the National Emergency Management Agency, White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Aerius Ltd, Kahu NZ, Inflite Charters, ID Tours New Zealand and Tauranga Tourism Services were all charged after WorkSafe filed a total of 20 charges.