Whakaari survivors: The small choices that led to big consequences

Sunday, 6 December 2020

Matt and Lauren Urey on Whakaari on the day of the eruption. The couple suffered serious burns.

On December 9, 2019, Whakaari/White Island erupted, claiming the lives of 22 but severely injuring many more. As the one-year anniversary approaches, Stuff talks to a honeymooning couple whose lives change completely that day.

Whakaari survivors Matt and Lauren Urey had no way of knowing their choice in clothing the day of the eruption would shape the rest of their lives.

Singlets or T-shirts? Shorts or pants? Denim or nylon? All choice permutations made by those on the trip. The sales brochure for the USD$648 trip to Whakaari did not help. All it said to bring was a hat, sunglasses and walking shoes.

The simple decision, taken for granted by the 47 other people on the island, had wide-reaching consequences for injury recovery, though it was impossible to know that at the time.

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“We never gave it a second thought,” Lauren says thinking back to the morning of December 9.

“We only dressed for the weather. It was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). I run cold so I wore leggings and sleeves. Matt runs hot, so wore shorts and a T-Shirt.”

Matt’s choice of clothing contributed to him suffering burns to 54 per cent of his body. About 30 per cent were third-degree burns where skin was exposed.

In shorts and a T-Shirt, Matt Urey suffered burns to more than 50 per cent of his body.

“I couldn’t feel any heat on my hands and legs as they were just fried in the eruption,” he says.

“I could only feel heat on my back which was where I had suffered superficial burns.”

Despite his horrific injuries, Matt was able to carry his new wife to the safety of the boat.

“He pushed me on,” Lauren says. “I kept saying I couldn’t go on and wanted to stop. He saved me. Saved my life. He’s a hero.”

Lauren Urey had long sleeves, pants and suffered burns to about 20 per cent of her body.

Lauren, in contrast, was wearing long sleeves and long pants, with a sweatshirt tied around her waist. She suffered burns to 23 per cent of her body. About 15 per cent was classed as third-degree, with most being on her exposed hands.

Twelve months on, Matt analyses the choice of clothes they made that morning.

“Ironically, I work in a factory that produces flameproof clothing,” he says.

Matt Urey captured this shot of black smoke emanating from Whakaari moments before being told to run as the eruption happened.

“A mention of needing long sleeves or pants would have been a clue that this trip was more dangerous than it appeared.”

He has no doubt had they been wearing flame-resistant clothing their injuries would have been significantly reduced.

“Flame-resistant coveralls are not difficult to get,” he says.

He speaks of watching race car drivers engulfed in flames but suffering only superficial burns due to the safety gear they wear.

Other survivors, that Lauren and Matt stood side-by-side with during the eruption, suffered lesser burns due to wearing heavier, denim jeans.

Clothing choice was not the only choice that played a factor in their survival.

The choice to take another picture of the black smoke emanating from the crater or to follow the instructions from the tour guide to “run” made a difference. As did the decision to take cover behind a large, fortuitous, rock found during a scrambled retreat.

“That rock saved our lives for sure,” Lauren says.

The memory of ash and steam spilling towards their rocky shelter is still vivid in the couples’ mind. The newly-weds from the United States locked hands, which had just placed wedding rings on each others’ fingers, and braced.

“I told him how much I loved him and just didn’t let go,” Lauren says. “I thought this was our last moment. I just wanted to be found next to each other if we died. We were on our honeymoon. I never thought we could die on our honeymoon together.”

The last 12 months have involved evacuations, triage, comas, skin grafts and constant surgeries. Each surgery costs money and insurance coverage is a gamble as they are classed as ‘cosmetic’. A trip to the letterbox brings the dread of mounting bills.

“It’s hard to get surgeries approved and covered,” Lauren says. “It’s extremely expensive to get things paid [In the United States].”

The Ureys say there were huge gaps in what they were told about Whakaari, which did not allow for a proper assessment of the danger level of the tour and would have altered their decision to go that day.

Lauren Urey's exposed hands were extremely burned in the eruption and prevent her from working her old job as a lab technician.

“We never officially heard it was at level 2,” she says.

“It wasn’t until we heard the tour guide said we couldn’t go to certain areas during level 2. At that point, we were already on the island. We were stuck.”

Matt says the brochure makes mention of Whakaari being an active volcano. But, looking up this definition showed an active volcano is one that has erupted at least once in the last 10,000 years.

He had no idea the volcano had erupted in 2016, 2013, 2012 and in 2000.

“There was no information about Level 2 volcanic levels or what that even meant,” Matt says.

“Level 2 doesn't sound bad until you realise that level 3 is that there is an eruption in progress. It was a little detail that was critically important. There is no way we would have gone to the island had we known that.”

Lauren says the choice to let people on to the island in the first place was wrong.

Injuries to Matt Urey's legs and arms were extremely bad where the skin wasn’t covered.

“I don’t think it was thought out,” she said.

Lauren has lost the ability to work as a lab technician. They are forever changed, scarred, having to wear compression clothes and wraps to treat burns.

Their uncertain future contains constant surgeries. Mental scars still remain.

“In many ways it was rougher on the family,” Matt says. “We were in a coma. It was hell after we woke up. I can’t imagine what it was like for our parents to see their children with their skin all burnt off.”

Newlyweds Lauren and Matt Urey were on White Island when it erupted. They were taken to separate hospitals with burns.

One year through hell, and debt, and the Ureys are looking to make another choice, to fight.

They want to hold those responsible to account via a lawsuit and have filed proceedings against Royal Caribbean and ID Tours New Zealand.

Their lawyer, Mark Winkleman, specialises in cases involving cruise ships and cruise line companies.

Winkleman says the damage caused to his clients, and others, is “catastrophic”.

“It is the legal duty of the cruise ship to warn passengers of known dangers. Had [The Ureys] known there was a heightened risk they would never have set foot on that island. Should they be giving tours in the week leading up the eruption?”

Part of the case rests with accusations of negligence in the monitoring of the trip’s safety, volcanic alert level and that the Urey’s were not provided with any material to prevent them from being burned.

“There are imprints of where their clothes were,” Winkleman says.

The Ureys stress their lawsuit is not against New Zealand or reflective of the care they received while here. It is about choices made not to alert people visiting the island (and) the choice in protection for those that visited it.

“This is about justice for those who did not survive,” she says.

“We made it out alive. There’s 22 people who did not. We’re going to fight for them. We’re not going to give up. If we don’t win the first time we will appeal. I’ m not going to give up until we get justice.”