Major Volcanic Eruption Reported Off of Yemen
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Monday October 1, 2007 4:46 AM

TORONTO (AP) - A volcano has erupted on a tiny island off the coast of
Yemen, spewing lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air, a Canadian
naval vessel near the island in the Red Sea reported Sunday. The Yemeni
government asked NATO to assist in searching for survivors.

Ken Allan, a Navy spokesman, said a NATO fleet just outside the
territorial waters of the island Jazirt Atta-Ir reported seeing a
``catastrophic volcanic eruption'' at 7 p.m. local time. The 2-mile-long
island is about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen.

``At this time, the entire island is aglow with lava and magma as it
pours down into the sea. We do not have confirmation of how many people
were on this island at the time of the eruption,'' Allan said in an e-mail.

``The lava is spewing hundreds of feet into the air, with the volcanic
ash also (rising) a thousand feet in the air,'' Allan said.

The Canadian Armed Forces said they are trying to locate nine people
believed to be at sea after the Yemen coast guard requested help.

The NATO fleet was sailing toward the Suez Canal when it spotted the
eruption. The government of Yemen asked NATO to assist in the search for
survivors and the closet ship, the HMCS Toronto, is heading toward the
island.

Yemen is a poor tribal Sunni Muslim country at the southern tip of the
Arabian Peninsula.