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The company and master of the vessel involved in a boat crash that injured a group of tourists at Horizontal Falls in WA’s Kimberley region will be defending charges laid against them.
Key points:
- Boat owner Journey Beyond Adventures and the vessel's master have pleaded not guilty
- The safety-related charges follow an AMSA investigation
- The case was adjourned to October, when a trial date may be set
Twenty-five passengers and two crew members were on board the boat, called “Falls Express”, when it allegedly hit rocks as it travelled through the 7.5m gap at the popular tourist attraction in May last year.
Dozens of people were injured at the remote location and six aircraft were deployed to rush them to hospital.
They were transferred hundreds of kilometres to medical facilities in Broome, Koolan Island, Derby and Perth.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority investigation led to the company, Journey Beyond Adventures, and the master of the vessel, Edward Whisson, being charged with two safety-related offences.
Today, a lawyer appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on their behalf and said both parties would be defending the charges.
Magistrate Robert Young noted that pleas of not guilty had been entered and the matter was adjourned until October, when a date for the trial may be set.
Magistrate Young queried whether the case needed to be transferred to the Kimberley region because that was where the crash is alleged to have happened, but the prosecution said the intention was for it to remain in Perth.