At least 23 people were injured in Hawaii Big Island on Monday after a lava explosion from the Kilauea volcano sent debris flying through the roof of their tour boat. It is noted that the massive volcanic eruption happened in March 2018 evacuating thousands of residents from the island and diminishing the tourism industry.
The “lava bomb” hit the roof of the Lava Ocean Tours vessel near the town of Kapoho, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said that the explosions of varying sizes happen whenever 2,000-degree (1,093-degree Celsius) when lava enters much colder seawater.
Some of those explosions can be so tiny they are hard to see. But when the conditions are just right, there are much larger explosions send molten rock and other debris high into the air, according to USGS geologist Janet Babb.
The explosion sent the hotel molten lava through the boat’s roof and into the passenger cabin.
At least four passengers were rushed to the Hilo Medical Center, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department.
Two of those hospitalised were in stable condition while one woman was in serious condition with a fractured femur.
There are nine other passengers drove themselves to the hospital, and officials considered their injuries to be superficial. Later Monday, the tourism officials added that 10 other passengers were treated at the harbor, raising the number of injured to 23.
The boat returned to the Wailoa Sampan Basin Harbour in Hilo around 7 a.m., following its 4 a.m. departure. The entrance to the Pohoiki Boat Ramp, from which the tour departed, is now located half a mile away from the active ocean entrance, officials said.
Shane Turpin, the owner and captain of the boat that was hit, said he never saw the explosion that rained down on his boat. He noted the tour group had been in the area for roughly 20 minutes making passes of the ocean entry about 500 yards offshore.
Turpin didn’t observe “any major explosions,” so he navigated the vessel closer, to about 250 yards away from the lava.
The hot molten lava continues to spew from fissure 8 of the Kilauea volcano since its initial eruption on May 3rd. The U.S. Geological Survey on Sunday alerted that the volcano was under its “warning/orange” advisory, meaning a “major volcano eruption is imminent, underway, or suspected.”
A “tiny new island” has been formed along the coastline, which the agency said Friday was “most likely part of the fissure 8 flower that’s entering the ocean.” The island is believed to be roughly 20 to 30 feet in diameter.
Tags: 23 tourists, Kilauea Volcano, Tourism
