NUKU'ALOFA (TONGA): A volcanic eruption near the South Pacific nation of Tonga has destroyed rich bird-life and vegetation, leaving a wasteland of black ash and tree stumps, witnesses said yesterday.
Sightseers, officials and scientists who went to the site have described frequent explosions hurtling rocks and ash hundreds of metres into the air.
The volcano, on the uninhabited islet of Hunga Ha'apai, 63km north-west of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, began erupting on Monday, days after a moderate earthquake. It continued to spew yesterday, even as Tonga's main island of Tongatapu was rocked by a 7.9-magnitude quake.
The volcano is hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre of the earthquake, which caused no significant damage but sparked a regional tsunami warning.
Radio journalist George Lavaka, who visited the island with a sightseeing group on Thursday, said: 'The island itself is totally destroyed. There is no living thing left there, it's all covered in black ash.'
'There are only black stumps where the coconut trees were,' he added. 'We saw dead birds and fish in the water.'
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Posted by Mr Wan
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