Man has his leg shattered by spitting lava in first serious injury caused by the erupting Kilauea volcano
The man was on a third-floor balcony when he was hit by lava spatter that shattered his leg from shin to foot
Lava spatters can weight as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces of spatter can kill, it was revealed
Molten rock from two huge cracks merged into a single stream, threatening to block escape routes
Authorities attempted to open up road that was blocked by lava in 2014 to serve as alternative escape route
HANNAH MOORE
DAILYMAIL.COM
20 May 2018
A man had his leg injured by spitting lava in what was the first known serious injury that was reported from fresh explosive eruptions from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.
The man was on a third-floor balcony when he was hit by lava spatter that shattered his leg from his shin to his foot, said Janet Snyder, a spokesperson for the Office of the Mayor, County of Hawaii.
Snyder revealed that lava spatters ‘can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces of spatter can kill’. No other information was immediately available.
As magma destroyed four more homes, molten rock from two huge cracks merged into a single stream, threatening to block other escape routes and touching off brush fires.
The erupting lava, which can reach a blistering 2,000 degrees F, crossed Highway 137 shortly before midnight and sent lava flowing into the ocean.
That prompted warnings of laze – clouds of hydrochloric acid and steam embedded with fine glass particles formed when hot lava hits ocean water.
On Sunday authorities attempted to open up a road that was blocked by lava in 2014 to serve as an alternative escape route, Jessica Ferracane of the National Park Service told reporters.
The park service is working to bulldoze almost a mile of hardened lava out of the way on nearby Highway 11, which has been impassable, she added.
The Hawaii National Guard has warned of mandatory evacuations if more roads become blocked.
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