American Whakaari/White Island survivors seek damages from cruise line and tour operators

Matt and Lauren Urey both suffered serious burns and spent two months in New Zealand hospitals following the Whakaari/White Island eruption. Now they seek damages from the cruise line and tour operators.

The American couple were celebrating their honeymoon, when Whakaari/White Island erupted, killing 21 people and injuring 26 others.

"I genuinely feel we've been wronged. We weren't given enough information to make an informed decision," Urey told TVNZ.

The newlyweds had travelled to New Zealand aboard a cruise to celebrate their honeymoon. Photo / Supplied

Their family lawyer, Michael Winkleman confirmed they will be filing a lawsuit within the next two weeks against White Island Tours and Royal Caribbean cruise line.

"It would have been so easy for Royal Caribbean to note: for those of you going on the excursion to White Island Tours there's a heightened risk in going with that because there's a heightened level of this volcanic activity," Winkleman told TVNZ.

"Had they done that, my guess is that most people would have cancelled that tour, so I think there was a profit motive."

A family group of an Australian victim has also confirmed it will be taking action against the cruise line.

Another survivor of the eruption, who lost her sister and father, says more people would have survived if help came sooner.

Australian woman Stephanie Browitt, 23, suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body and lost parts of her fingers.

Browitt's younger sister Krystal, 21, and father Paul were among those who died as a result of the eruption.

Krystal Browitt, from Melbourne, died as a result of the eruption. Photo / Facebook

The 23-year-old was one of 12 people rescued by a group of local helicopter tour pilots who flew to the island after the eruption.

"I'm upset at the whole situation, but I'm very angry that it took so long for the rescue to come," Browitt told Four Corners.

"Now I realise rescue actually wasn't coming. It was just three pilots who chose to risk their own lives to help us, and if they hadn't come, we'd all be gone.

"I know that if help had come sooner, there would probably be more people alive from our group."

The Browitt family were visiting the island while on a day trip during their Ovation of the Seas cruise. Photo / George Novak

Following the eruption, authorities did not send an official rescue helicopter to the volcano immediately, instead, they were sent to Whakatāne, around 50km away.

The family only learnt about the risk of eruption once they were on the island, Browitt said.

The Browitts were part of a group of 38 passengers from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship who were on a day trip to Whakaari/White Island.

Browitt's mother Marie decided to stay on the ship docked in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty.

White Island Tours guides only told the group the volcano was at alert level two, the highest it could be before an eruption occurs, once they were on the island, Browitt said.

"Once you're on the island, you can't get back off," she said.

"I was a little concerned ... but at the same time you sort of have trust that we wouldn't be on here, they wouldn't be running tours if they thought it was dangerous."

White Island shortly after the eruption on December 9. Photo / White Island Flights

The Browitts reached the centre of the island at about 2pm, taking a picture together at the edge of the steaming crater lake at 2.04pm.

Six minutes afterwards as they were headed to the jetty, the Whakaari/White island volcano erupted.

Browitt's younger sister Krystal managed to capture the moment it began on camera, with a gas cloud beginning to emerge from near the crater lake.

Their tour guide instructed the group to start running and before Browitt was able to put her gas mask on her face she was hit by a wave of ash and rock.

"It felt like a wave, like it just takes you," she said.

"I was just knocked over. I was tumbling, rolling, for minutes. I mean it felt like forever until it stopped and then it was just burning hot.

"I remember trying to stand up and it took so much energy just to stand up I remember thinking, 'I can't believe how hard this is'. My legs just felt like jelly."

After getting to her feet and walking for a short time, Browitt fell and tumbled down a small hill and landed among a group of people.

Help only arrived nearly an hour after the volcano erupted.

A Volcanic Air helicopter was badly damaged and left on the island. Photo / Instagram

No one was able to move, Browitt said, as they waited for help, with the sun making her burns more painful.

She heard her father call out her name and called back to him before everything went quiet, Browitt said.

"I think a lot of people gave up on screaming," she said.

"But every 15 to 20 minutes, I'd hear my name again. My dad was yelling out my name and I realised he was checking up on me to make sure I was awake."

Browitt was rescued by helicopter pilot Jason Hill but not before the pilots tried to load Paul in first, who told them to take his daughter first.

After landing at Whakatāne, a 20-minute flight from the volcano, Browitt was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Browitt and her father Paul were flown to Melbourne, where her father died in hospital four weeks after the eruption.

The Browitt family do not know what happened to Krystal and whether she was brought back on one of the helicopters on December 9, or if her body was one of six left on the island and recovered four days later.

The family did not sign any waivers or get any receipts from the cruise ship operator, Royal Caribbean, about the volcano tour.

And they were not told about the risks either, Browitt said.

"If we were informed of the level and that there was a lot of [volcanic] activity in the coming weeks leading up to it ... we wouldn't have done it," she said.

A group of passengers and victims' relatives are now taking legal action against the cruise ship operator.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean told Four Corners they were focused on providing care and support to passengers.