"Lava Ocean Tours Big Island lava boat tours are an exciting way to experience the molten hot lava entering the sea," the company says on its website. "See, Hear & Feel the heat from your front row seat onboard one of our world class catamarans."
According to Hawaii News Now, the boat had left with 49 passengers and three crew members on board and had been touring the area around Kapoho, an unincorporated section near the island's coastline where the lava explosions from ongoing eruptions at the Kilauea volcano have destroyed hundreds of homes and completely filled in a popular tide pool bay last month. But with timely evacuations and public attention, few have been injured seriously.
A video posted by Hawaii News Now reporter Mileka Lincoln taken from another lava tour boat captures a massive lava explosion in the water that she said affected the other boat.
"It's unclear how close Turpin's tour boat was to the Kapoho lava ocean entry when the explosion happened, but eyewitnesses report the boat appeared to be 'very close,' " she wrote, noting that the Coast Guard recently changed the mandatory safety perimeter required around ocean lava entries from 100 to 50m for the tour operators.
State officials and police said they were investigating the incident. The US Geological Survey volcanologist Wendy Stovall told USA Today that lava bombs can result from the interaction between lava with the ocean, as water turns into steam and causes the lava to explode.
Government officials have also been warning about the dangers of laze, potentially dangerous mix of hydrochloric acid, steam and tiny glass particles in the air that results from the interaction of the lava and the water.
Shane Turpin, the captain of the boat in the incident, told AP that the group had been about 250m away from the lava.
"As we were exiting the zone, all of a sudden everything around us exploded," he said. "It was everywhere."
He said that the crew didn't pick up on any warning signs before the explosion.
The volcano's eruption on Hawaii has been an ongoing emergency on the island since May, sending thousands of residents from their homes, destroying hundreds of structures, and captivating the world through arresting images showcasing the earth's raw destructive power. The lava also created a small island metres off the coast this week.
