CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – A helicopter pilot shared his harrowing experience in court on Thursday, describing how he and two of his passengers managed to avoid serious injury by jumping into the ocean during the 2019 eruption of a volcano in New Zealand. The eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, claimed the lives of 22 people.
Pilot Brian Depauw, a Belgian-born resident currently living in Canada, testified at the Auckland District Court during the trial of three tourism companies and three directors who are facing safety breach charges related to the December 9 disaster.
Depauw, who was working for tour operator Volcanic Air at the time, recalled instructing his passengers, two German couples, to follow him if they saw him running as a safety precaution. When the volcano erupted, the pilot made a quick decision to head towards the water rather than returning to the helicopter.
“The water is what saved us,” Depauw told the court.
As the eruption unleashed superheated gases and ash, Depauw and one of the couples managed to reach the water, but were overtaken by ash. They endured a few minutes in darkness before seeing light through the ash and making their way to safety. However, the other couple did not reach the water and suffered serious burns.
Depauw described the terrifying moments underwater, saying, “The minute I hit the water, it went black. The ash came and obviously hit us and I couldn’t see anything.” He later assisted his two passengers, who had avoided burns, onto a boat.
Photographs presented in court showed the extent of the damage to Depauw’s helicopter, which had been displaced from its landing pad and had bent rotors due to the force of the volcanic eruption.
During questioning, Depauw expressed his belief that there would have been warning signs prior to the eruption, unaware at the time that the volcano had erupted in 2016. He sustained minor injuries, including a cut knee, a pulled back muscle, and temporary irritation to his eyes from the ash.
The trial, expected to last 16 weeks, will resume on Monday. The companies and individuals involved have pleaded not guilty to the charges, while other tour operators have already pleaded guilty and await sentencing.