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Lava crashes through the roof of Hawaii tour boat, injuring 23

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Lava crashes through the roof of Hawaii tour boat, injuring 23
News

News

Lava crashes through the roof of Hawaii tour boat, injuring 23

2018-07-17 13:37 Last Updated At:13:37

An explosion caused by lava oozing into the ocean sent molten rock crashing through the roof of a sightseeing boat off Hawaii's Big Island, injuring 23 people Monday, officials said.

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, plumes of steam rise as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. An explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off Hawaii's Big Island, injuring at least 13 people Monday, July 16, 2018, officials said. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, plumes of steam rise as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. An explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off Hawaii's Big Island, injuring at least 13 people Monday, July 16, 2018, officials said. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

They were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava plunging into the ocean from the long-erupting Kilauea volcano that has been vigorously shooting lava from a new vent in the ground for the past two months.

The U.S. Geological Survey says explosions of varying sizes happen whenever 2,000-degree (1,093-degree Celsius) 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, much larger explosions send molten rock and other debris high into the air, according to USGS geologist Janet Babb.

The lava punctured the boat's roof, leaving a gaping hole, firefighters said.

A woman in her 20s was in serious condition with a broken thigh bone, the Hawaii County Fire Department said. She was transported to Honolulu for further treatment, said Hilo Medical Center spokeswoman Elena Cabatu.

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, lava flows into the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. Officials say an explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off the Big Island, Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 13 people. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, lava flows into the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. Officials say an explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off the Big Island, Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 13 people. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Twenty-two others suffered burns and scrapes, including 12 that were treated at the Hilo hospital and released.

Shane Turpin, the owner, and captain of the vessel that was hit said he never saw the explosion that rained molten rock down on top of his boat.

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, people watch a plume of steam as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. Officials say an explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off the Big Island, Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 13 people. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 2018 file photo, people watch a plume of steam as lava enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii. Officials say an explosion sent lava flying through the roof of a tour boat off the Big Island, Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 13 people. The people were aboard a tour boat that takes visitors to see lava from an erupting volcano plunge into the ocean. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

He and his tour group had been in the area for about 20 minutes making passes of the ocean entry about 500 yards offshore, Turpin said.

He 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."

Turpin said he had no idea just how big the blast was until he saw a video of the event later on shore.

"It was immense," he said. "I had no idea. We didn't see it."

Monday's large blast may also be related to the undersea landscape and the amount of lava being produced by a fissure miles from the coast.

Babb said sometimes molten rock can become encrusted underwater, and when that crust breaks large amounts of lava hit the water and create huge steam explosions.

"How high and how far really depends on the vigor of the steam explosion, and that depends on the amount of lava going into the ocean," Babb said. "Based on a lot of years of observations of ocean entries," USGS estimates these explosions can send debris up to 300 meters in any direction.

In a flow that reached the ocean in 2016, the lava "hit a steep slope and was very quickly carried down to deeper parts of the ocean," Babb said. But the offshore topography of the new ocean entry is shallow, meaning explosions could occur much closer to the surface.

And the volume of lava now entering the ocean is much higher than in previous eruptions, Babb said. The active eruption site is sending as much as 100 cubic meters of lava per second snaking down to the sea. In the 2016-2017 flow to the south, there were only about 4 cubic meters per second being erupted.

Turpin, who has lived on the Big Island since 1983, said that he has been observing and documenting these explosions and that this type of activity is new to him. There were no warning signs before the blast, he said.

"There's something new. There's something really new," he said. "And I've been documenting them a bit."

He said he had visited one woman who sustained serious injuries in the hospital.

"They're unbelievable people," he said of the woman and her family, who are visiting the island. "Just really good people."

The others in the tour group quickly pulled together helped one another, Turpin said.

"What I saw in humanity this morning was amazing. I mean this was a group of people that never met before, and they were brought together," he said. "In all honesty, we definitely evaded a catastrophic event today."

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. Despite the hazards, several companies operate such tours. The Coast Guard said tour vessels have operated in the area going back at least 20 years.

The U.S. Coast Guard in May instituted a safety zone where lava flows into the ocean off the Big Island. It prohibits vessels from getting closer than 984 feet (300 meters) from ocean-entry points.

This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows damage to the roof of a tour boat after an explosion sent lava flying through the roof off the Big Island of Hawaii Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 23 people. The lava came from the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting from a rural residential area since early May. (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP)

This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows damage to the roof of a tour boat after an explosion sent lava flying through the roof off the Big Island of Hawaii Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 23 people. The lava came from the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting from a rural residential area since early May. (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP)

The agency allows experienced boat operators to apply for a special license to get up to 164 feet (50 meters) from where lava sizzles into the sea.

Kilauea volcano has destroyed more than 700 homes since it entered a new phase in May. But the only serious injury over the past two months was to a man who was hit by flying lava that broke his leg.

Officials were interviewing injured passengers at a hospital.

HONOLULU (AP) — A judge on Friday forced the Hawaii attorney general's office to turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the disaster.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs suing over the August fires filed a motion last month asking a judge to compel the state provide them with the material gathered by the Fire Safety Research Institute, which was hired by the state to investigate.

The state refused, saying disclosing the records would “jeopardize and hinder” the investigation. In court documents opposing the motion, the state called the request “premature, baseless and frivolous,” and asked a judge to order that attorneys fees be paid to the state for defending against the motion.

Soon after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the historic town of Lahaina and killed 101 people, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced hiring outside investigators. Last month Lopez and representatives from the Fire Safety Research Institute released a report on the first phase of the investigation, which said the head of the emergency management agency dragged his heels about returning to the island amid the unfolding crisis, while a broad communications breakdown left authorities in the dark and residents without emergency alerts.

During a Friday hearing on the island of Maui, state Deputy Attorney General David Matsumiya told Judge Peter Cahill the state is concerned that releasing information could prompt the six people who haven't been interviewed yet to change their stories.

Cahill balked.

“Do you really believe that's going to be happening?” he asked, clearly upset. “And so what if they change their stories? Aren't they entitled to?”

Cahill seemed to indicate concerns with the investigation, including whether people interviewed were advised that they weren't obligated to answer questions.

“By the way, the taxpayers are paying for this,” the judge continued.

Lopez said last month the investigation contract was initially not to exceed $1.5 million, but because they are behind schedule, the contract was extended. According to an updated contract, the cost increased by $2.5 million, not to exceed a total of $4 million.

The judge's order is of “grave concern,” the attorney general's office said in a statement after the hearing.

“The independent, objective fact-finding process and analysis is critical to determining what county and state agencies must do to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again,” the statement said. “Premature release of these materials may allow external factors to influence the analysis.”

The attorney general is reviewing options and will soon decide on an appropriate course of action.

Cahill told Matsumiya he understands the state's concerns, but not giving the information to the attorneys would delay litigation. The investigation is important, and it was a wise investment to hire an outside agency given the state lacks a fire marshal, he said, “but it's also important that people have their day in court.”

Cahill noted there are some 400 lawsuits involving thousands of plaintiffs.

“It's frustrating the process of litigation,” Cahill said, “which is also a truth-seeking mechanism.”

David Minkin, an attorney representing Maui County, suggested to the judge that the investigative process was tainted.

Investigators “showed up in Lahaina, said we're here from the AG's office and started talking to people,” without informing them of their rights, he said.

Matsumiya said the state is trying to “protect the integrity of the investigation, which is designed to create a better future for Lahaina, and all of those people in Lahaina."

But Cahill responded that “the past in this case, given what's occurred on this island, needs to be take care of as well,” and that litigation will determine whether there were any legal breaches of duty.

During a separate hearing later Friday to discuss coordination of the lawsuits, Cahill said a handful of lawsuits are scheduled to go to trial in November.

FILE - Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez and members of the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) hold a press conference on the Maui Wildfire Phase One Report findings on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Honolulu. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

FILE - Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez and members of the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) hold a press conference on the Maui Wildfire Phase One Report findings on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Honolulu. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire is visible in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 17, 2023. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - The aftermath of a wildfire is visible in Lahaina, Hawaii, Aug. 17, 2023. A judge on Friday, May 3, 2024, forced the Hawaii attorney general's turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the deadly disaster. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

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