Woman burned in volcano tragedy reveals how she looks five years on

A Brazilian tourist was just found dead near an active volcano — and it’s reigniting serious questions about how safe these attractions really are.

Few people understand the danger better than Stephanie Coral Browitt, who survived the infamous White Island eruption in 2019 — but paid a devastating price.

A catastrophic decision

Five years ago, on December 9, a dream trip turned into a nightmare when White Island’s volcano violently erupted off the coast of New Zealand.

Despite warning signs in the weeks leading up to the blast, tourists were still allowed to set foot on the island — a decision that would prove catastrophic.

Known as Whakaari in Māori, the volcano claimed 22 lives that day. Nearly half of everyone on the island were tourists from Australia and the U.S.

Another 25 people were badly injured when the volcano suddenly released steam and toxic gases, triggering a violent explosion that blasted rock and ash high into the sky.

Among those caught in the chaos on the volcanic island was Stephanie Coral Browitt, a 23-year-old Australian woman enjoying a cruise vacation through New Zealand. What started off as an ordinary day suddenly turned into a nightmare without warning. Stephanie suffered devastating injuries during the eruption — and tragically lost her dad, Paul, and her sister, Krystal.

”Within seconds, we realized it was erupting and we all began to run for our lives. It all happened so fast that we had no chance of escaping it,” Stephanie told People.

Stephanie Browitt was just 23 when her dream vacation turned into a nightmare. While her father and sister tragically didn’t make it, Stephanie somehow survived the violent eruption. She was hit by a pyroclastic flow — a deadly surge of scorching gas and volcanic debris — but even as her body was consumed by burns, her mind stayed focused on one thing: her mom.

Her mother, who battles Multiple Sclerosis, had stayed back on the cruise ship that day. And in the middle of the chaos, Stephanie held on to one powerful thought: “She needs us, I have to survive for her.”

The rescue efforts during and after the eruption faced criticism. When New Zealand authorities learned about the eruption, official rescue helicopters didn’t head straight to the volcano. Instead, they were sent to the mainland town of Whakatane, about 50 miles from the island. Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopters said the crew was sent to Whakatane “to await further taskings.”

Ongoing seismic activity, heavy rain, low visibility, and toxic gases all made the rescue efforts incredibly difficult.

Stephanie recalled the agonizing wait for help to arrive.

“Everyone was just on the ground. There was one person lying flat on their belly just spread out, who was screaming in pain, another person who was yelling for help,” she told ABC in 2020.

“I remember thinking: ‘I don’t know why people are yelling, like, there’s just no one near, around us, we’re on an island in the middle of the ocean.’”

Stephanie was among 12 people saved by a team of local helicopter tour pilots who bravely risked their own lives to rescue them.

“I’m upset about the whole situation, but what makes me really angry is how long it took for help to arrive,” Stephanie said.

“Now I realize that official rescue wasn’t actually coming. It was just those three pilots who chose to put their lives on the line to save us, and if they hadn’t shown up, we’d all be gone,” she added.

“I truly believe that if help had come sooner, more people from our group would still be alive.”

Stephanie’s recovery was nothing short of brutal. She spent six agonizing months in the hospital, enduring unimaginable pain and a series of intense procedures. Doctors were forced to amputate eight of her fingers, and over 70 percent of her body; including her face, hands, legs, chest, back, and abdomen — which was covered in what’s known as full-thickness burns.

These kinds of burns destroy all three layers of skin, often leaving the area charred, pale, or blackened. Unlike minor burns, the skin doesn’t blister, it’s just gone.

Her path to healing wasn’t just physical. It was a full-body, full-time effort.

Stephanie underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy, laser treatments, and wore compression garments around the clock. She even had speech therapy to help rebuild basic functions. It was a grueling process, but step by step, she began to reclaim her life.

”Learning to love myself in my new skin has taken time. I was extremely self-conscious and worried about being judged every day,” Stephanie explained.

Five years after barely escaping a deadly volcanic eruption, Stephanie is now turning the tragedy into strength — and helping others do the same.

Recently, she hit a huge personal milestone: she wore a two-piece swimsuit for the first time since the eruption. She also revealed her current reality to her 1.8 million TikTok followers, showing a raw, unfiltered look into her healing journey.

“5 years on & this is what my burns care looks like now,” she wrote in a post showing her everyday routine — one that still includes weekly occupational therapy for her hands.

She explained, “I think it still makes a huge difference for my hands and their function, whilst also looking after my skin.”

Stephanie remains disciplined about caring for her body, applying moisturizers, oils, and sunblock daily to support her skin’s long-term recovery. And while it might seem like she’s thriving — and in many ways, she is — Stephanie is open about the fact that it hasn’t been easy.

“I was taught in hospital to take things one day at a time and that’s something I always remind myself of now,” she told People. “Otherwise, you’ll find it difficult to overcome anything.”

Today, she uses her platform not just to share updates, but to advocate for fellow burn survivors around the world.

“Representation truly matters when it comes to healing. I needed that as I was recovering,” she explained. “Seeing other people with burns and living a good life gave me back hope that my future wasn’t all lost.”

The legal battle following the devastating volcano eruption dragged on for years. But in 2023, New Zealand’s Whakaari Management Limited — the company that operated tours to White Island — was found guilty of failing to minimize risks to tourists. The judge in the case ruled that there were ”astonishing failures” by the company that licenses tours to the volcanic island.

A year later, an Auckland court ordered the company to pay over $10 million NZD in compensation to the victims’ families and survivors.