This handout photo taken and released on December 13, 2019 by the New Zealand Defence Force shows soldiers taking part in a mission to retrieve some of the 22 bodies from White Island after the December 9 volcanic eruption, off the coast from Whakatane on New Zealand's North Island. Photo by Handout / New Zealand Defence Force / AFP
Wellington: The owners of a New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 visitors in 2019 had individual charges against them dismissed by a court in Auckland on Tuesday.
Around 50 people were on White Island -- also known as Whakaari -- in December 2019 when a deadly column of burning ash and steam blasted from a volcanic vent.
The eruption off the coast of the North Island also left more than two dozen victims with horrific burns.
The island's three owners -- brothers Peter, Andrew and James Buttle -- had charges of health and safety breaches against each of them dismissed in Auckland district court.
It's "not about whether any of ...(the trio) are guilty or not guilty," said Judge Evangelos Thomas.
"It is about whether there is even enough evidence to continue with the charges at this stage. Could I reasonably convict any of the Buttles on that evidence? No."
However, the brothers are the directors of the company responsible for the island, Whakaari Management Limited, which still faces two charges related to the disaster.
The company and two tour operators are charged with breaching safety regulations. They all deny wrongdoing.
The trial into the disaster opened in July and is set to continue Wednesday.
