Tour boat operators in Hawaii will continue to take tourists to see lava erupting from the Big Island’s Kilauea volcano but will heed the Coast Guard’s directive to stay farther away.
The revised policy Tuesday comes a day after 23 people were injured when an explosion caused molten lava and rocks to crash through the roof of a tour boat.
After the incident the Coast Guard has ended its policy to allow experienced tour boat operators to get to 50 meters away from the lava flows. Now all boats are required to remain at least 300 meters away.
Officials say a woman in her 20s is in serious condition with a broken thigh bone. They say 13 people required hospitalization while the rest were treated at the harbor for burns, cuts and other superficial injuries.
The Coast Guard is trying to determine the exact location of the boat hit by the blast.
Access to view lava flows is strictly restricted on land, making boat and helicopter tours the only options people have to witness volcanic spectacle in person.
Officials have warned of the dangers of getting too close to where the lava meets the Pacific Ocean to create a foggy haze called a “laze.” Apart from lava explosions, there is also a danger of clouds of hydrochloric acid and fine volcanic glass particles.
Kilauea has been erupting since early May. The lava flow has destroyed hundreds of homes, but until now the only serious injury was a man whose leg was broken by flying lava.
Kilauea has been erupting almost without stopping since 1983; however, the latest eruption is one of the biggest. (VOA News)
