A California couple on their honeymoon in Hawaii filed a US$5 million lawsuit against a snorkeling firm after they claimed to have been abandoned in the water for almost an hour. The duo claimed that the snorkeling tour group left them in the water, forcing them to swim to land.

The episode happened in September 2021 when Elizabeth Webster and her husband, Alexander Burckle, visited the little island of Lanai, which is close to Maui, to go snorkeling. The couple described their horrific experience in a federal lawsuit they filed last month. According to NBC News, they were among the 44 people boarding the Sail Maui for the Lanai Coast snorkel trip.

The couple claimed in their complaint that the captain told them they would stay anchored there for roughly an hour before moving on to the next destination. About an hour later, as the couple began to head back to the boat as the waves became choppy. But to their surprise, the Maui Sail Company vessel was no longer there.

The pair attempted to stay afloat and send out distress calls after realising that the boat had departed, but they finally found themselves in much deeper, choppier water, according to the New York Post. The duo “were beginning to panic and were struggling to swim in the ocean conditions,” they said in their lawsuit. “They feared that drowning was imminent,” the suit added.

The duo “were beginning to panic and were struggling to swim in the ocean conditions,” they said in their lawsuit. “They feared that drowning was imminent,” the suit added.

They ultimately succeeded in reaching the coast of Lanai, but were “fatigued and exhausted” by the time they got to the island. They got assistance from an islander who provided them with water and allowed them to use their phone. 

The claim also alleged that the staff failed to accurately count everyone who had returned fromsnorkelingg.

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