As a mix of light and dark steam begins rising from Whakaari’s crater, a group of tourists look on in awe. Walking turns to running and running turns to sprinting as the group quickly takes refuge from volcanic missiles behind large rocks. Panicked screams fill the air and one tourist falls to their hands and knees before the ash cloud engulfs the group. The island sat at Volcanic Alert Level 2 at the time - a fact shared by a guide in another raw video played to the court today. WML has arrangements with multiple tourism businesses that operated tours to the island.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 11, 2023 12:52 UTC