"Tour Operators Fined $7.8 Million for New Zealand Volcanic Eruption"

Tour operators and island owners in New Zealand were ordered to pay nearly $13 million in fines and reparations over a volcanic eruption that killed 22 people in 2019. The companies were found guilty of safety breaches, with the judge scathingly criticizing the shareholders for profiting from tours despite claiming no assets. The specific reparation sums awarded to victims and their families were suppressed, and a government agency that monitors volcanic activity was fined for failing to share risk assessments with its contracted helicopter pilots.