White Island volcano court hearings begin in New Zealand, as family calls for site to remain closed ThuThursday 4 updated ThuThursday 4 Karen Griffiths with her son Jason, months before he died following the White Island disaster. ( Print text only Cancel Karen Griffiths rushed from NSW to New Zealand as soon as she learned her son Jason had likely been caught up in the explosion on Whakaari White Island. Jason, 33, had been on a cruise with eight friends, including Karla Mathews and Rick Elzer who were also on the island when it erupted on December 9, 2019 But in the hours after news broke of the unfolding disaster, Karen and her husband Craig — who were at their Sawtell home,