Lava explosion injures Hawaii tourists

A flying blob of molten rock landed on a tour boat in Hawaii on Monday, injuring 23 people. One woman was flown to Honolulu in serious condition with a broken femur, and 22 others were treated at a hospital on the Big Island for minor scrapes and burns. The tour boat ventured to within 250 yards of where a lava flow from the Kilauea volcano enters the ocean. Explosions can occur when the molten rock comes in contact with the cool seawater, sending rocks and lava into the air. The Coast Guard allowed specially licensed tour boat operators to get as close as 50 meters to the lava flow, but they set the limit for everyone at 300 meters after Monday’s incident. “As we were exiting the zone, all of a sudden everything around us exploded,” said Shane Turpin, the owner and captain of the vessel that was hit. “It was everywhere.”