The "lava bomb" through the roof of the tour boat hurts 23 Hawaii islands

A "lava bomb" explosion from the point of entry of the Kilauea eruption punctured the roof of a tour boat, injuring 23 passengers early this morning, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department

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A "lava bomb" explosion from the point of entry of the Kilauea eruption punctured the roof of a tour boat, injuring 23 passengers early this morning, according to the fire department of Hawaii County. In the 300-meter safety zone of the Coast Guard at the time of the lava blast shortly after 6 am, the county authorities said that the "Hot Spot" excursion boat has arrived about 500 meters offshore. from the point of entry of the lava and proceeded to get closer until it was about 200 yards, or 600 feet from the shore.

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Four people were transported by ambulance to the Hilo Medical Center. Two of the three passengers were in stable condition. The third passenger described as being a woman in her twenties is in serious condition with a fractured femur.

Firefighters said that nine passengers went to the hospital and that doctors treated 10 people at the scene for minor burns and scrapes. Shane Turpin, the owner and captain of the "Hot Spot," told The Associated Press that he had never seen the blast that was rushing molten rocks on his boat

. about 20 minutes making passes from the ocean entrance about 500 meters off, Turpin said. He did not observe "major explosions", so he sailed his ship closer, about 250 yards from the lava. "19659008" "As we came out of the area, suddenly everything around us exploded," he said. . "He was everywhere."

Turpin said that he had no idea of ​​the size of the explosion until he sees the video of the event later at Earth. "It was huge," he said. "I had no idea, we did not see him."

He said that most of the injuries were minor, but that he had visited a woman who had been seriously injured at the hospital.

In addition to the pierced roof, the boat sustained damage.

The Coast Guard and the Conservation and Enforcement Division of the State Department of Lands and Natural Resources are investigating to determine the exact location of the vessel at the time of l & # 39; explosion. "We are working to know the facts," said Amanda Levasseur, Coast Guard 3rd Class Master

. Since the May 3 eruption, a significant volume of lava from the 8th crack in the low rift is continuing to enter the ocean.

The Coast Guard has established the security zone surrounding the lava inlet on the southeast side of the island to protect people and vessels from the potential dangers of active current.

Visitor Vim Mahadevan, 48, of Sherman Oaks, CA. , who is on vacation on the island of Hawaii with his family, was on a separate lava travel boat when he saw the ship affected. Mahadevan said that they left the Wailoa ramp around 4 am, at the same time as the ship Lava Ocean Tours.

Mahadevan was sitting in the front row of the boat when he saw the other ship in the water at the time of the explosion. He said rocks and ashes landed on this boat,

He felt that the other boat was less than 500 feet offshore. "They seemed really close," Mahadevan said. "We were at 1000 feet (offshore) .These people were much closer."

He described the lava bomb that struck the tour boat as a fireball that soared from 20 to 30 feet in the air. A broad plume of white smoke that escaped soon followed.

When Mahadevan saw the damaged lava boat, he said, "We were hoping no one was injured." He estimated that about 48 to 50 were aboard the ship.

Mahadevan Then observed a second explosion in the area. "The second was even bigger," he said

No ship was affected by the second explosion

The Associated Press contributed to this report.