The owners of an island volcano in New Zealand where 22 tourists and local guides died in an eruption had their criminal conviction for failing to keep visitors safe overturned by a judge on Friday.

Most of the 47 people on the island during the eruption were US and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour, along with their local guides.

The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country's High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m ($560,

The owners of a New Zealand island volcano that erupted and killed 22 people in 2019 are no longer being held responsible for the tragedy. A judge on Friday threw out the conviction against Whakaari Management Limited,