An American couple on their dream honeymoon to New Zealand were seriously burned in Monday’s deadly volcano eruption, according to new reports.
Richmond, Va., newlyweds Matthew and Lauren Urey were on a day trip to White Island from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation when the volcano went off, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Matthew, 36, was airlifted to a hospital in Christchurch with burns over 80 per cent of his body, while Lauren, 32, underwent surgery at an Auckland hospital with burns over 20 per cent of her body, the paper reported.
Matthew later left a frantic voice message at his mother’s home telling her he and his new wife were “very badly burned.”
Barbara Barham, Lauren’s mother, told the Washington Post that she learned her daughter had been hurt when she got a call from Matthew’s mom.
“Her son called and said that they had been on the excursion and there had been a volcano eruption and they were burned very bad,” Barham told the outlet.