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- White Island survivor Brain Depauw, 32, was working as a helicopter pilot the day of the deadly disaster in December 2019
- As volcanic ash catapulted out of the top of the volcano and into the air, Brian and his passengers made a mercy dash into the water which saved their lives
- The natural disaster sadly claimed the lives of 25 people
Here Brian tells his story in his own words.
Soaring through the beautiful blue sky, I peered down at the spectacular view below.
It was December 2019 and, working as a commercial helicopter pilot and tour guide in New Zealand, I was captaining a flight to the White Island volcano, known locally as Whakaari.
I’d only been in the job with tour company Volcanic Air Safaris for four weeks, and as my passengers – two couples visiting from Germany – gasped at the landmark, I couldn’t help but smile.
As we approached the island, located 48km off Whakatane, on the east coast of the North Island, white plumes of smoke from the volcano wafted up into the sky.
After safely landing the chopper and disembarking, I handed out gas masks for my guests to wear for protection against the sulphurous air and steam.
Before setting off on foot for a one-hour loop track of the main crater, I gave the group a safety briefing.
‘If you see me run… follow!’ I joked.
The comment made my guests chuckle.
As we set off, I yelled over the constant puffs of the volcano, fuelling my guests with information about the landscape of rocks and mud.
The closer we got to the crater, the hotter the ground became as sludgy puddles bubbled away beneath us.
Hearing the gasps of my guests as they took snaps filled me with joy.
On the walk back towards the chopper, around 2.10pm, we were about 400m from the aircraft when suddenly I heard a loud thud.
Looking back over my shoulder, I saw a huge plume of thick black and grey ash had catapulted out of the top of the volcano, shooting hundreds of metres into the air.
‘Should we run?’ one person asked, wide-eyed.
I’d made the tongue-in-cheek comment as a joke, but as the reality of what was happening sank in, I realised it was now no laughing matter.
‘Head to the water.’
Scorching debris and ash was hurtling straight towards us, and with the helicopter too far away, we had only one option…
‘Head to the water,’ I shouted, as we ran for our lives.
The dark, hot ash cloud roared behind us.
I reached the end of the jetty just as the force of the eruption hurtled me into the water.
After taking a huge breath in, I dived down deep, as the sky above turned pitch black.
Waves rumbled above my head as I fought to hold my breath.
Growing weaker with every second that passed, I was convinced I was going to die.
Thinking of my family, including my fiancée, Jolien, now 27, back home, I knew I had to hold on if I wanted to see them again.
My lungs screamed for air.
Finally, after close to two minutes, I could see a glimmer of sunlight peeking through the ash clouds.
Bursting to the surface, I took a huge gasp of air, and scoured the ash-strewn ocean for my passengers.
‘I’m so sorry.’
As I fought to catch my breath, I spotted two of them bobbing in the water nearby, remarkably unscathed.
The other two were still on the jetty, alive but badly injured.
Without hesitation I swam back to the jetty and climbed up the ladder to them.
As I helped them get up, their raw blistered skin peeled off in ribbons.
There was an eerie silence as around 20 other survivors stumbled towards us, many of whom had catastrophic burns.
One of the tour boats, which was heading back to the mainland when the volcano erupted, had turned back and was now moored to help those who’d survived.
As I cleaned away the ash on one woman’s arms, my eyes widened in horror as clumps of her skin washed away with it.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I muttered, horrified by her pain.
Helping the injured onto the boat, we made the 90-minute mercy dash back to the mainland.
As we sped across the sea, the defeated moans and groans and desperate sobs of those severely burned rang in the air.
‘I didn’t want to die.’
Crew, other able passengers and I tended to the injured, pouring fresh water on their wounds, but it did little to ease the pain.
When we finally arrived at the Whakatane marina, first responders, as well as anxious family and friends, had gathered to help their loved ones.
It was chaos. Burned bodies were everywhere as sirens blared rushing the injured to hospital.
After all the urgent cases were taken care of, I was driven in a police car to get checked over too.
Thankfully, doctors confirmed I’d escaped with just a strained back muscle and a cut on my right knee, so they discharged me.
Reunited with Jolien back home, I broke down.
‘I didn’t want to die,’ I shuddered, reliving my close call underwater.
‘You’re safe now,’ she comforted me.
Devastatingly, of the 47 people on the island, 22 had tragically died and 25 were injured, the majority suffering horrific third degree burns.
I was heartbroken for the victims and their families.
‘You’re safe now.’
Returning to work five days later, I was unfazed by flying, but found certain sounds triggering.
The clanging and rumbling of stones as cars drove over loose gravel took me back to the moment the ground started shaking and vibrating as the volcano began erupting.
That same month, the New Zealand police, along with Worksafe NZ launched a full investigation into the eruption.
In November 2020, Worksafe NZ filed charges against 13 parties – three individuals plus tour operators and government agencies responsible for monitoring volcanic activity on the island, which has been privately owned since the 1930s.
The company I’d been working for, Volcanic Air Safaris, was one of the tour operators charged.
During the trial, which began in July 2023 at Auckland District Court, I was asked to give evidence.
‘The decision to go into the water is what saved us,’ I told the court.
The court also heard that in the days leading up to the disaster, White Island had shown heightened activity.
I’d been aware the activity had been rated a level two – one level below an eruption – but that wasn’t uncommon and meant tours were still operable.
‘We were told to operate from level one to two,’ I told the court.
In March 2024, Judge Evangelos Thomas sentenced five parties found guilty, including Whakaari Management Limited, the company held by the owners of the island.
The others included White Island Tours, as well as helicopter tour companies Aerius Limited, Kahu KZ and Volcanic Air Safaris, who had pleaded guilty to amended charges.
He ordered $NZ10.21 million in reparation be paid to families of those killed and survivors.
Judge Thomas said they’d all ‘used an active volcano to make money.’
NZ’s volcano monitor GNS Science was also fined $54,000. Inflite Charters had previously pleaded guilty, in 2022, and been fined $227,500.
Of the 13 parties that were initially charged, five had pleaded guilty before trial and one was found guilty at trial on one charge, but had a second dismissed. Another pleaded guilty before trial to a reduced charge.
Six had charges dismissed.
Whakaari Management Limited has since appealed its conviction.
More than five years on, I still think about the horrors of that day, and just how quickly your life can change or be taken away.
I’m currently working as a pilot in Papua New Guinea with five weeks on, five weeks off.
And Jolien is back home in Belgium.
We’re due to get married in September.
I know how fortunate I am that I made it out alive and was able to return to my family.
Every day I get with them is a true blessing.
Court ruling overturned
In February 2025 New Zealand’s High Court overturned the 2023 decision, ruling that the owners of Whakaari were not responsible for the deadly eruption following their appeal.
In his judgement, Justice Moore decided that owning the land did not necessarily transfer workplace safety responsibilities to Andrew, james and Peter Buttle, instead blaming multiple systemic failures.
It means the men will not have to pay their fine of $940,000 or $4.4million in reparations to the victims of the tragedy.
