India Launches "Volcano Tourism" As Eruption Gains Strength

TECTONICS

File photo of Barren Island's volcanic activity.

New Delhi (AFP) Jun 16, 2005
India Thursday announced plans to send a boatload of tourists to view an active volcano as an eruption in the Andaman archipelago gained in intensity.

The tourists will view the volcano on remote Barren Island which is spitting lava, ash and boulders up to a hight of 100 metres (330 feet), according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).

"There are lots of tourists and local residents eager to see the active volcano and a ship is scheduled to sail out Friday for Barren Island," Kuldip Singh of the Andamans' tourism department told AFP by telephone.

"This will be the first volcano tourism venture in India and it is very likely to become popular with tourists."

Singh said Indian hoteliers, travel agents and tourism officials were taken on a tour of Barren Island on June 4. "There is a huge potential here," he said.

The Andamans, normally a tropical paradise, suffered a body-blow to its lifeline tourism industry after being hit by the December 26 tsunamis.

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago has reported hundreds of aftershocks since the December 26 undersea earthquake off Sumatra claimed about 217,000 lives in 11 countries around the Indian Ocean.

Geological experts visited Barren Island on Monday for the first time since the volcano became active on May 28, PTI said.

"A thick column of smoke, gas vapours and ash accompanies the pyroclasts (volcanic fragments) which are blowing in a northeasterly direction due to the prevailing wind conditions," it quoted an official as saying.

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TECTONICS

'Major' Earthquake Rocks Northern Chile, Kills At Least One

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