Volcano Explosion Through Roof of Hawaii Tour Boat

A flying lava crashing of molten rock has struck a tourist boat in Hawaii Island through the roof of a tour boat, injured atleast 23 passengers and they are being treated in hospital.
The “lava bomb,” which burst from the water near the boat as molten rock poured into the ocean, landed on the roof of the vessel and crashed into the seating area, said Hawaii County Fire Department Battalion chief, Darwin Okinaka.
The boat managed to return to Wailoa Harbor in Hilo around 7 a.m. Those aboard the boat had varying degrees of injuries.
A woman in her 20s was in serious condition with a broken thigh bone, the fire department said. Three others were in stable condition at a hospital with unspecified injuries. The rest of the passengers suffered burns, scrapes and other superficial injuries.
The molten rock is coming from the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting continuously for the past 35 years. In May, its eruption entered a new phase when it began spurting lava through newly formed fissures in a residential neighborhood.
Officials have warned of the danger of getting close to lava entering the ocean, saying the interaction can create clouds of acid and fine glass. Beside the hazards, several companies operate such tours.
Shane Turpin, the owner and captain of the vessel that was hit, said he never saw the explosion that rained molten rocks down on top of his boat.
He and his tour group didn’t observe “any major explosions,” so he navigated his vessel closer, to about 250 yards away from the lava.
“As we were exiting the zone, all of a sudden everything around us exploded,” he said. “It was everywhere.” “It was immense,” he said. “I had no idea. We didn’t see it.”
Turpin has been navigating lava tour boats for many years and has lived on the Big Island since 1983. But “There’s something new. There’s something really new,” he said. “And I’ve been documenting them a bit.”
>Juthy Saha