Flying lava bomb hits Hawaiian tourism boat, injuring 23 passengers

chaffin.mitchell
Updated

Twenty-three people were injured when a flying lava bomb punctured the roof of a lava tour boat, causing a large hole in the vessel early Monday morning.

Hawaii County Fire officials responded to reports of a lava explosion near the Kapoho ocean entry that sent lava bombs of rock and debris flying into the air, which landed on a lava tour boat near Suisan Harbor, Hilo, Hawaii.

#LeilaniEstatesEruption #KilaueaVolcano LATEST (July 16 at 7:15 AM): Hawaiʻi County Fire officials are on their way to Suisan Harbor in Hilo with an ambulance in response to reports that a lava explosion near the Kapoho ocean entry sent lava bombs (rock and debris) flying into the air and landed on a lava tour boat being operated by Shane Turpin. Eyewitnesses report that it ripped through the tour boat roof and landed on several people - injuring both passengers and crew members. Stay tuned to @HawaiiNewsNow for the very latest developments! As soon as I have more information, I'll update you. #HInews #HawaiiNews #HNN #HawaiiNewsNow #WeAreYourSource (Photos & video courtesy @IkaikaMarzo)

A post shared by Mileka Lincoln (@milekalincoln) on Jul 16, 2018 at 10:25am PDT

Eyewitnesses report that it ripped through the tour boat roof and landed on several people, injuring both passengers and crew members. The lava bomb was about the size of a basketball, officials said.

Hawaii Volcano
Hawaii Volcano

(U.S. Geological Survey via AP)

Most of the injured passengers had superficial injuries and were treated on arrival at Wailoa Harbor in Hilo, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said.

According to ABC News 7, one passenger, a woman in her 20s, was in serious condition with a fractured femur. Three others were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, but the remaining passengers were treated at the harbor with varying degrees of injuries.