White island volcano was inspected by NZ safety regulator

NZ’s workplace regulator visited White Island Tours just months before the eruption.

White Island volcano erupts on December 9. Picture: AP

New Zealand’s workplace regulator visited White Island Tours just months before the volcanic island erupted, killing 17 people, local media has reported.

New Zealand website Stuff reported an inspector from the country’s workplace safety agency, WorkSafe, took a trip to the ­island about 12 weeks ago as part of a safety audit. The article carried a quote from a WorkSafe spokeswoman confirming the visit but declining to provide ­details, citing an ongoing investigation into the disaster.

The White Island volcano erupted on December 9 when 47 people were visiting the island, most from the cruise ship ­Ovation of the Seas.

Thirteen Australians were among the dead. Two people, 17-year-old Sydney girl Winona Langford and 40-year-old tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman are missing, presumed dead.

An extensive search for their remains has been called off by New Zealand officials. They are not among those listed as dead.

Among questions being asked is how tourists were allowed to visit an island that housed an ­active volcano.

The inspector who visited White Island was from a unit tasked with reducing the number of workplace incidents on Maori workers, Stuff reported.

WorkSafe, which regulates New Zealand’s vast adventure tourism industry, has begun its own investigation into the White Island incident. Stuff quoted a source saying the spot check by WorkSafe left company management thinking there were no outstanding issues with its activities.

The White Island disaster is being examined by the New Zealand Police and WorkSafe.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has suggested WorkSafe itself may come under scrutiny: “Did the operators fulfil the expectations around health and safety audits and so on? The questions may well be: ‘Was that regime adequate? And did WorkSafe do their job?’ ”