Friends of newlyweds injured on Whakaari/White Island raise $50,000

Tuesday, 24 December 2019

The American newlyweds injured during the Whakaari/White Island eruption have a long road to recovery ahead of them, their friends and families say.

Matt and Lauren Urey, from Richmond, Virginia, were married in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 18. For their honeymoon, they spent time in Australia before heading to New Zealand.

Friends told Stuff they were shocked and heartbroken to hear the couple had been caught up in the tragedy.

Feeling 'helpless', they set up a fundraising site and have so far raised more than $51,000 to help with the couple's recovery costs. While their treatment in New Zealand would be covered by the country's Accident Compensation Corporation, there would be ongoing costs as part of their recovery, said long-time friend and organiser, Aaron McKendry.

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Friends of Lauren and Matt Urey, who were injured in the Whakaari/White Island eruption, have raised more than $50,000 to help with their recovery.

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US newlyweds Lauren and Matt Urey were severely burnt in the eruption that killed 17 people, a toll which doesn't include two bodies yet to be found.

When their cruise ship docked in Tauranga, Lauren Urey called her parents to say they had plans to visit a live volcano. The couple weren't concerned about possible eruptions, her mother, Barbara Barham, told The Washington Post.

Later, Barham got a call from the cruise line Royal Caribbean asking if she'd heard from her daughter because the couple hadn't returned to the ship. Then, Matt Urey's mother, Janet Urey, called, saying her son had left a distressing voicemail. In the message, he said there had been an eruption and he and his wife were badly burnt.

It was December 9, and the newlyweds were among 47 people, mostly tourists and guides, on or around Whakaari/White Island when it erupted. A plume of dark ash and gas rose 3.5 kilometres into the air following what GeoNet described as 'an impulsive, shortlived event'. More than two dozen of the visitors were left with severe burns, some covering up to 95 per cent of their bodies. So far, 17 have died and two remain missing presumed dead.

Matt Urey, 36, and Lauren Urey, 32, made it off the island and were sent to Christchurch and Auckland, respectively. Both have had multiple surgeries.

Within days, family members arrived in New Zealand. In a Facebook update on December 13, Tim Urey said his brother had many weeks in the intensive care unit ahead of him and his sister-in-law was in a similar condition.

On Tuesday, the Urey and Barham families released a joint statement, saying they were grateful that although the couple were severely injured, they were alive.

'From the moment we were notified of the eruption, we have received nothing but support from everyone here in New Zealand.'

They thanked the hospital staff caring for the couple, as well as the New Zealand Police and the US Embassy.

'[The couple] are progressing as well as could be hoped for given the severity of their injuries, but they both have a tremendously difficult and long road to recovery ahead of them.'

In response to the donations, Rick and Barbara Barham in another statement said: 'The outpouring of love is overwhelming and [the couple] will be so touched by the support they have been shown by both friends and strangers.'

McKendry, who has known Matt Urey for more than 20 years, described his friend as 'incredibly shy and quiet growing up', but 'one of the most dependable people'. 'He was always willing to go completely out of his way for you and he constantly had a car full of people that he was giving a ride to.'

The mechanical engineer had wanted to visit Australia since he was a child, McKendry said. 'I had been following [their] honeymoon on Facebook and it all just felt incredibly unbelievable to learn what happened.'

Hometown friend, Colleen Cain, added the couple shared a 'fairytale type of love'. Cain recalled Matt Urey accompanying his future wife — then just weeks after they'd started dating — to the vet when her cat had to be put down. 'Lauren describes that moment as the day she knew she was going to marry him.'

Quynh Ly, who worked with Lauren Urey as a medical laboratory technician in Richmond, said her colleague would be pleased to know her two cats were being well looked after while she was in hospital.

Speaking about the couple, she said: 'If you see them together, they're just so in love.'

Lauren Urey's talkative and outgoing nature balanced her husband's more reserved personality, she said. 'He's definitely the listener in the relationship.'

Whakaari/White Island was New Zealand's most active volcano. In the weeks prior to the eruption, there had been a rise in indicators monitored at the island including seismicity and volcanic chemistry, GNS senior vulcanologist Graham Leonard said. That increase in unrest, and related increased chance of an eruption, were communicated publicly through GeoNet volcanic alert bulletins.

Cabinet was currently taking advice from officials on whether a wider investigation was needed.