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Ash plume from underwater volcano off Tonga cancels flights and turns sea red Sorry - this page has been removed.
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An underwater volcano off Tonga was spewing ash high into the air on Tuesday, causing several carriers to suspend air travel to the South Pacific island nation and turning the surrounding ocean blood red, residents and officials said. This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, about 65km north of the capital Nuku’alofa, was sending volcanic ash up to 4,500m into the air, the Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said.
Tonga residents described a spectacular sight, with the enormous plume from the volcano shooting high into the sky and a muddy discharge underwater turning areas of the sea off the island blood red. For further information, please contact:
“I feel it is healthily letting off steam but it is growing ... the base has doubled in size since 24 December when we first saw it again. And it’s getting higher,” resident Chris Egan told Fairfax media.
The volcano, which first erupted in 2009, had been rumbling in recent weeks before exploding violently in the past few days, the New Zealand Herald reported.
An Air New Zealand flight between Auckland and Nuku’alofa on Monday was diverted to Samoa and later returned to New Zealand because of the volcano, the airline said in a statement.
A return service had been scheduled to fly on Tuesday, the airline said, but had been cancelled because of volcanic activity. The volcano was not disrupting flights to other regions, it said.
Regional carrier Fiji Airlines also turned around a flight to Tonga on Monday, citing safety concerns, and domestic flights were grounded in Tonga.
No damage is reported and New Zealand’s VAAC said the ash cloud was expected to dissipate by the end of Tuesday.