More than 20,000 people have signed a petition pleading with Worksafe to suspend the charges against two helicopter pilots who rescued survivors from Whakaari/White Island.
Mark Law and Tim Barrow have both confirmed they are two of the 13 parties charged by WorkSafe for their actions on 9 December 2019 when the volcano erupted, killing 22 people.
Law and Barrow airlifted 12 critically injured survivors from the smouldering island and were credited as heroes.
The charges, laid on Monday, could see Barrow and Law charged up to $300,000 if they are found to have failed to meet the health and safety requirements of their companies under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
A petition which asks these charges be dropped has been signed by more than 22,000 people in less than 24 hours.
"Tim and Mark and their fellow pilots didn't hesitate, they flew out to Whakaari - landed on the island and did what they could to transport the victims back to the mainland," reads the description.
"These men don't deserve this treatment - as a Kiwi we make stuff happen when the chips are down. We go the extra mile for fellow Kiwis."
Since it was created 18 hours ago, 22,578 people have signed the petition,
Law has previously said while he believed a WorkSafe investigation was "the right thing to do" he thought the agency had glossed over the contributions made
"Listening to their presentation on [Monday] afternoon, it was pretty much like, 'you're guilty'... that's not in the spirit of what people like myself have been out there doing to ensure the safety of myself, my staff, the family," he told Magic Talk's Ryan Bridge.
"When you see this side launched out and slammed into people and companies and businesses - which I think were all trying to do their best - it's quite uncomfortable."
None of the allegations against the 13 parties relate to recovery or rescue efforts. The investigation centred solely on the health and safety measures in place prior to the eruption.
A spokesperson for WorkSafe told Newshub "on those matters, no enforcement action has been taken."
They declined to comment further as the case is now before the courts.
