A volcano on a Yemeni island in the Red Sea was spewing a mix of lava and ash for the third straight day on Tuesday, after erupting for the first time since the 19th century. According to the AP, Yemeni authorities said three troops had been killed during the eruption on the island of Jabal al-Tair, home to a garrison of 50 soldiers, and that five others were missing.
The garrison had been evacuated after the eruption of the 1,200 meter-high volcano, which started on Sunday at 12:00 noon. The bodies of the three soldiers were recovered from the sea, while a fourth had been located alive, military official Abdel Bari Shamsan was quoted as saying by the official Saba news agency.
Shamsan was speaking in the port city of Hodeida, some 150 kilometres from the island.
A Yemeni coast guard official told AFP the volcano remained active on Tuesday. A team of volcanologists dispatched to the area reported that the eruption produced one kilometer long lava flows and blackened the water within a 9.7 kilometer radius of the island.
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh inspected on Monday, boarding a helicopter, the situation in the island, SABA news agency reported. He also checked the process of evacuation and rescue for soldiers who were camped in the island.
