THIS MONDAY THE 16TH OF JULY.
JOE:
A SIGHT-SEEING TOUR TOOK A
DRASTIC AND DANGEROUS TURN THIS
MORNING..IN WATERS OFF
THE BIG ISLAND.
natsound of explosion and
screams
JOE:
SHORTLY AFTER 6 ..23 PEOPLE ON A
LAVA OCEAN
TOURS VESSEL WERE INJURED AFTER
A LAVA
BOMB HURLED MOLTEN ROCK INTO THE
AIR, AND
THROUGH THE METAL ROOF OF THE
BOAT.
WE SPOKE TO TWO OF THE
PASSENGERS ON THE BOAT WHO TOLD
US...THEY WATCHED AS FIERY ROCKS
FLEW TOWARD THEM.
ERIN WALSH, PASSENGER: we had
been watching it and it
was so beautiful, and then all
god
WILL BRYAN, PASSENGER: the worst
part is like erin was
saying, there's nowhere to go.
you're on a boat. it's only so
JOE:
AGAIN, 23 PEOPLE WERE HURT...ONE
SERIOUSLY
WITH A BROKEN FEMUR. SHE HAD TO
BE FLOWN TO OAHU FOR FURTHER
TREATMENT.
MANOLO MORALES SPENT THE DAY ON
THE BIG ISLAND...
MANOLO?
MANOLO:
THE STATE TELLS US THERE WERE 52
PEOPLE
ABOARD THE TOUR BOAT OWNED BY
LAVA OCEAN
TOURS, INCLUDING THE CAPTAIN AND
TWO CREW
MEMBERS. MOST OF THE PEOPLE
INJURED HAD SMALL BURNS AND
CUTS.
Passengers aboard the boat named
Hot Spot got a much closer look
than they wanted as they were
showered by
molten lava. Officials say the
boat returned to the harbor so
passengers can get medical
help.
One woman was seriously injured
and 12 others were hospitalized
with burns and cuts.
BATT CHIEF Matthias Kusch, HFD:
our units had everybody remain
on board until we extricated the
one female
patient in her 20s who had a
more serious injury
Officials say ten more people
were treated at the harbor
with minor injuries.
BATT CHIEF Matthias Kusch, HFD:
everybody was calm and listened
to directions that were given so
we could
extracate the one patient who
was seriously injured and
thru the triage system
so everybody was very
cooperative
Hilo Medical Center also set up
a triage to handle the incoming
patients. Most were released
after a few hours but
the woman with serious injuries
was medevaced to
Oahu for further treatment.
Elena Cabatu, Hilo Medical
Center: there was an injury to
the pelvis so we decided..our
med team decided to fly this
person out to oahu
the hospital was inundated
with 13 patients coming in at
the same time. The good thing
is that the night shift workers
were still on duty so they
stayed on to help.
Elena Cabatu, Hilo Medical
Center: in that time period it's
a lot of patients for us to
handle. fortunately again our
patients..the patients were not
as serious as it could have
been
The roof of the aluminum vessel
has a hole about the
size of a basketball. Lava also
damaged the railings and
parts of the cover for the
propellers. Investigators with
the state and the Coast Guard
inspected the vessel
throughout the day and took the
GPS which will determine where
exactly the boat was when it
happened.
MANOLO:
THE BOAT HAS BEEN RELEASED BACK
TO LAVA
OCEAN TOURS. WE REACHED OUT TO
NOT WANT TO
SAY ANYTHING AT THIS TIME. JOE.
JOE:
A VOLCANIC BOMB IS A MASS OF
MOLTEN ROCK THAT IS FORMED WHEN
A VOLCANO EJECTS VISCIOUS
FRAGMENTS OF LAVA DURING AN
EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION.
THEY COOL INTO SOLID FRAGMENTS
BEFORE THEY REACH THE GROUND.
JANET BABB, USGS GEOLOGIST: "i
would use an example of
something that I used to do as a
child, we
would heat a marbles, and glass
marbles, and we would
drop them in cold water, and we
would watch them crackle and
watch them break apart. same
thing, hot lava, entering cooler
sea water, cool quickly, and
there is going to be this
steam that blast it apart."
JOE:
YOU MAY RECALL IN MAY, A KAPOHO
RESIDENT WAS
HIT BY A LAVA BOMB...WHILE HE
WAS
OUTSIDE HIS HOME...NEARLY
SHEARING
HIS LEG IN HALF.