Women suffer burns after mud pool bath

Farah (left) and Ghania may be left with permanent scars from the burns. Picture / Tracey Robinson

Visitors to Rotorua mud pools are being warned to wash their faces first after two English tourists suffered facial burns in what appears to be a reaction between sulphuric mud and sunscreen.

When Farah, 26, and Ghania, 27 (who only gave their first names), got out of Hell's Gate mud pools after a 15-minute soak, their faces had blisters and were stinging as if they had bad sunburn.

Doctors have told them they could be left with permanent scarring from the ordeal. They were told a chemical reaction between mud and sunscreen could have led to the burns.

Staff are now advising visitors to make sure they wash themselves before bathing to avoid the possibility that the same thing could happen to them.

Hell's Gate general manager Bryan Hughes said he regretted the incident and was having the mud pool tested.

Guests were now being told to wash their faces thoroughly before bathing in mud, he said.

He said he had agreed to pay the tourists' medical expenses, two nights' accommodation, a meal for two and travel to Taupo, and had offered to reimburse the pair for the trips they missed to Waimangu Volcanic Valley and Huka Falls.

"All we can do is track back and see what the story is," he said. "We don't like putting our visitors through that. "We are going to try our best to get to the bottom of that situation."

Mr Hughes has also advised the girls to lodge a claim with the Accident Compensation Corporation.

Samples of water and mud from the pool had been sent to a private laboratory in Hamilton and Hell's Gate had contacted an English store to get details about the sunscreen the girls were wearing.

The tourists had sent a letter from their lawyer to Hell's Gate general manager Bryan Hughes, asking for written details about what expenses the tourist attraction will pay.

Farah said she wanted payment for all ongoing specialist care.

She also said she and Ghania would probably cut their 20-day holiday short because they were so distressed and they would now be unable to do many of the outdoor activities they had planned.

Farah was told her burns could take up to a year to heal.

She said that at the time of the incident, a member of staff had told her she was overreacting and the sensations were normal.

Mr Hughes said Hell's Gate did everything it could and the staff member told Farah she was overreacting because they thought her skin was responding to sulphur, which he said was common.

- NZPA