Whakaari/White Island tragedy: Where the survivors are at six months on

Nearly six months ago the lives of 47 people, and those who loved them, were irrevocably changed as Whakaari/White Island erupted.

The December 9 eruption killed 21 people from four countries, including New Zealand tour guides Tipene Maangi and Hayden Marshall-Inman.

The bodies of Marshall-Inman and teenage Australian tourist Winona Langford still have not been found.

Dozens more suffered life-changing injuries, many spending months in hospital and needing surgery and skin grafts for their horrific burns.

Their remarkable stories of disaster and ongoing recovery have inspired people across the globe.

Whakatāne-born Jake Milbank was working as a tour guide on the day, his 19th birthday.

It was tour guide Jake Milbank's 19th birthday on the day of the eruption. Photo / File

He suffered burns to 80 per cent of his body, and over four months in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital went through 25 surgeries.

He's now back home, where he's been enjoying spending time with family and friends again, seeing his dog, and even fishing with his father off the beach.

It's a long road to recovery, though.

Tour guide Jake Milbank suffered burns to 80 per cent of his body in the Whakaari/White Island eruption. Photo / File

He's been working with physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and about two weeks ago needed to return to Waikato Hospital for more surgery.

As ever, he says he is buoyed in his journey by the outpouring of support.

"I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support that I have received from all around the world, and especially from my home town of Whakatāne," he said in a recent social media update.

"All of your kind messages inspire me every day to keep working hard on my road to recovery, again I wouldn't be where I am today without all the love and support that I have received."

Tour guides Kelsey Waghorn and Hayden Marshall-Inman on Whakaari/White Island. Photo / File

Fellow New Zealand tour guide Kelsey Waghorn suffered full-thickness burns to 45 per cent of her body during the eruption.

She spent 65 days in hospital altogether, including 10 in the intensive care unit, and 14 trips to the operating theatre.

On May 20, she said on social media after a recent visit to Waikato Hospital that surgeons were "really impressed with how my grafts, donor sites and scars are healing".

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

This week she posted that she was finally "dressing-free".

In a recent update, she said she was "trying to look ahead, past all of the rehab and appointments, to what I could do in the future".

"I haven't got there yet, but it's early days."

Kelsey Waghorn spent 65 days in hospital including 14 operations. Photo / File

She also thanked everybody who had supported her, particularly in the "midst of a global pandemic".

"I am lucky for so many reasons, and your help is making my future ever brighter."

The eruption killed 14 Australians and injured 10 - by far the most nationals of any country.

The aftermath of the Whakaari/White Island eruption. Photo / File

Stephanie Browitt, 23, suffered third-degree burns to 70 per cent of her body and lost parts of her fingers in the eruption.

She was on the island with her father Paul and 21-year-old sister Krystal, who died.

The Melbourne family were touring the Bay of Plenty as passengers of the Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas cruise liner, but Browitt's mother Marie remained on the ship that day.

Two weeks ago, Browitt returned to her Melbourne home from the hospital where she spent "six long, hard and exhausting months".

"Through so many tears, pain, sweat, moments of wanting to give up and days where I just wanted to hit something... the support of everyone around us has been a part of the reason I chose to keep fighting and just push through," she said in a social media post.

"Now I'm finally back where I want to be; home, with Mum.

"Unfortunately I wish I had my dad and sister with me also, but I choose to believe they're watching over me and were with me as I arrived home and embraced Mum."

Stephanie Browitt lost her father, Paul and sister, Krystal, in the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption. Photo / File

Five people from the United States died and four were injured.

Survivors newlyweds Matt and Lauren Urey were honeymooning aboard the Ovation of the Seas, which offered an excursion to the active volcano.

In a social media post in March, Matt Urey recounted the moment of the eruption: "I was hiding behind a boulder with my wife, being blasted by scorching hot ash and pelted with rocks.

"I couldn't see an inch in front of my face and couldn't even take a breath because the air was so saturated with dust. 'Terrifying' does not begin to describe those few moments - I genuinely did not think I was going to survive to ever see my beautiful wife's face again."

Urey said it was "nothing short of a miracle" he and his wife were alive.

"The single biggest relief of my life was hearing Lauren's voice after the eruption ended and knowing that she survived too."

Matt and Lauren Urey of the United States were on their honeymoon when the disaster struck. Photo / File

They had a long road of rehab to go, but they were "incredibly lucky" to have such amazing family and friends to support them, he said.

"While this was a horrible experience, we have learned to cherish every moment we have together and emerged with an even stronger marriage.

"It has been heart-warming to be reminded that there are far more good people in this world than bad."

Four Germans, two people from the United Kingdom, two from China, and one person from Malaysia were also injured in the tragedy.