“The screaming began to deter, it was starting to get quieter.”
Langford’s recollection, recorded in an interview with police around four months after the Whakaari disaster in April 2020, was played to the court where a trial for six individuals and companies associated with tourism on White Island is under way.
Langford was one of the youngest victims of the disaster. His mother, father, and sister, who had sailed to New Zealand onboard Royal Carribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, were all killed. His sister’s body was never found.
In his interview, the teen said initially he wasn’t too keen on the idea of a cruise. He was more into adventure tourism, which was partially why a shore excursion to Whakaari was so attractive.
The family had travelled by bus to Whakatāne on December 9, later boarding a boat for the 90-minute journey to Whakaari.
At their closest point to the crater, Langford said the group was told they could only remain for “two to three minutes” because of the potentially harmful nearby gasses.
When walking away from the crater, there was a loud bang and an explosion that resembled a black firework. The group turned to take photographs before the tour guide quickly yelled at them to run.
“The last thing I saw was just the whole lake lifting up in a massive explosion. Everyone was just running.”
He ran for about 10m before being buried in an ash cloud he described as a “wall of black”.
He was thrown a few metres, landing in front of a concrete wall - “the opposite side to where I wanted to be.” He also inadvertently landed on another tourist, who was yelling at him to get off as the pair remained buried by the cloud.
“It was like a sandstorm in the movies.”
The teen was hit by a projectile rock in the back of the head. At that point, he crawled into a foetal position and covered the back of his head with his hands. He pulled his shirt over his face to prevent further burning.
When the storm cleared, Langford had a view of his parents. His father was attempting to remove his gas mask, while his mother wasn’t moving at all.
Sitting on the barren landscape for 15-20 minutes, Langford said he contemplated how to respond. He said his goodbyes and started walking towards the sea, hoping to alert someone to where others were.
“It still bothers me, making the decision to get up and walk away.”
As he walked towards the sea, he saw a guide and yelled at him.
“He turned around and his reaction was ‘holy s***’”.
The pair made it to a nearby boat. Langford remembers some of the boat ride but eventually lost consciousness. He woke up in Australia eight days later.
The court was expected to hear a police interview from another victim this afternoon, but Worksafe chose to tender that evidence to the judge rather than play it in open court.
The trial will pause tomorrow and resume on Wednesday.
Ethan Griffiths covers crime and justice stories nationwide for Open Justice. He joined NZME in 2020, previously working as a regional reporter in Whanganui and South Taranaki.
