KAILUA-KONA — At least a dozen people on a lava tour vessel were injured Monday morning after an explosion sent lava rocks through the roof of the boat’s passenger cabin.
The passengers were aboard a 39-foot double-hull ACI Boat operated by the company when a “lava explosion” occurred near the ocean entry at Pohoiki where lava from fissure 8 is entering the ocean, according to the Hawaii Fire Department. Fire rescue personnel responded to the incident at 6:05 a.m.
The captain of the vessel, according to the fire department, told first responders that the boat was about 200 yards offshore of the lava entry site when the explosion occurred sending hurling, hot lava rocks toward the boat. At the time of the explosion, the vessel was turned out to sea. Photos of the boat show a basketball-size hole in the vessels roof and rocks on the deck.
The U.S. Coast Guard said an investigator is en route to look into the incident. The safety zone currently stands at 300-meters (984 feet) with no exclusions. That zone has been in effect since March 2017 and made permanent in May.
After the incident, fire rescue personnel met the boat at Wailoa Small Boat Harbor where they triaged the passengers. Four were transported by medics and nine personal vehicle to Hilo Medical Center and 10 were treated at the scene for minor soft tissue injuries and burns, according to the fire department.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement said 13 people were treated at Hilo Medical Center. A 20-year-old woman suffered major leg trauma. The other passengers suffered burns and scrapes.
Passengers initially reported that the vessel was outside of the U.S. Coast Guard-established safety zone.
Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement along with the Hawaii Police Department are investigating the incident. DOCARE officers are now in the process of interviewing injured passengers at the Hilo Medical Center.
The DLNR originally named the company as Hawaiian Lava Boat Tours, however, shortly before noon Monday, officials said the company was in fact Lava Ocean Tours. Video provided by Hawaiian Lava Boat Tours below shows a second explosion, a minute or so after the first one that damaged the Lava Ocean Tours vessel.