An American woman said she told her new husband she loved him and was certain they would die when a New Zealand volcano erupted in 2019 killing 22 people.
Lauren, 35, and Matt Urey, 39, returned to New Zealand from their home in Richmond, Virginia, to testify in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday in the trial of three tourism companies and three directors charged with safety breaches over the White Island disaster on Dec. 9.
The honeymoon couple were among 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name, Whakaari, when superheated gases erupted. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned, including the Ureys.
The court was shown video statements the couple provided police as they were convalescing as well as their testimony in court.
In 2019, the couple had traveled to New Zealand from Australia aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas and Matt Urey had booked the volcano tour through the Florida-based cruise company.
Lauren Urey said she was concerned by the prospect of visiting a live volcano.
“I was paranoid to be honest. I was really iffy about the volcano months before we even went on it,” she said.
She said a guide had assured her that an early warning system on the island would alert them 10 minutes before any eruption.
She said she was told wearing a hard hat on the volcano was compulsory but wearing a respirator was optional. She rarely wore the respirator because it was uncomfortable.
She was feeling safe by the time she got to the volcano crater and was enjoying herself until a tourist pointed to the rising plume of the eruption.
“I remember my heart just sink and so many people were taking pictures. I just freaked out,” she said.
She said she and her husband ran for their lives then hid behind rocks and held each other’s hand.
“He was just screaming in agony. I’ve never heard him scream like that before. I remember he said he was sorry,” she said.
“I remember me screaming in agony. My body was sizzling,” she added. “I said: ‘I Iove you so much. I’m going to die today.’”
She struggled to put her respirator on because of the force of the volcano and she was determined to keep holding her husband’s hand.
“I was positive we were going to die and if were we going to die, I wanted to be next to him,” she said tearfully.
The badly burned couple managed to make their way from the island to a boat. Both spent weeks in hospitals.
Lauren Urey said she was given no warning of the dangers of an eruption or advice to wear protective clothing.
“My husband would never put my life or his life at risk and I trusted my husband. I would have no reason not to trust him,” she said.
Matt Urey said he would have worn heavier clothes if he had been aware of any risk.
“I was under the impression it was pretty safe,” he said.
The island’s owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle; their company Whakaari Management Ltd.; as well as tour operators ID Tours NZ Ltd. and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd. have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Other tour operators have pleaded guilty and will be fined at a later date.
Each of the companies faces a maximum fine of 1.5 million New Zealand dollars ($927,000). Each of the brothers charged faces a maximum fine of NZ$300,000 ($185,000).
Of those killed, 14 were Australians, five were Americans, two were New Zealanders and one was German.
The trial is being heard by Judge Evangelos Thomas without a jury and is continuing on Wednesday. It began on Tuesday and is scheduled to run for 16 weeks.
