Hawaii volcano lava reaches geothermal plant area
Honolulu, May 23: Relentless lava flow from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano which had erupted 19 days ago, has now reached the Puna Geothermal Venture property, Hawaii County's civil defence agency said.
The plant produces electricity by bringing steam up from underground wells and funnelling it to a turbine generator, reports CNN.
Officials are trying to prevent possible explosions or the release of toxic fumes by "quenching" most of the wells, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesman Thomas Travis said on Tuesday.
Quenching starts with filling underground wells with cold water. So far, 10 of the 11 wells at the geothermal plant have been quenched, according to agency officials.
Travis said workers might also try to plug the wells, perhaps by filling them with mud and capping them with iron plugs.
Meanwhile, toxic sulphur dioxide gas is still spewing from cracks in the earth's surface after the eruption that took place on May 3 prompting massive evacuations from the adjoining areas of Leilani Estates and the adjacent Lanipuna Gardens located on the Big Island.
A latest eruption took place early Tuesday morning.
Residents "should be prepared to leave the area with little notice due to gas or lava inundation", Hawaii County's civil defence agency said.
Since Kilauea's eruption, rivers of fire have swallowed at least 40 structures, hurled lava through cracks in the earth's surface and devastated livelihoods, reports CNN.
The lava entered the Pacific Ocean on May 19.
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Raphinha apologizes for gesture toward Atletico fans after Barcelona's Champions League elimination
Madrid (AP): Barcelona forward Raphinha has apologized for his gesture toward Atletico Madrid fans after his team's elimination in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Raphinha, who didn't play on Tuesday because of a hamstring injury, also criticized the refereeing, making the “robbed” sign with his hands, and later told reporters that Barcelona was “robbed" over the two legs.
The Brazil star is likely to face punishment from UEFA for his actions at the Metropolitano stadium.
While still on the field, he gestured toward Atletico supporters and made a gesture apparently indicating that the rival will be eliminated in the next round. He appeared to tell fans “you are out."
“I apologize for my gesture, which does not reflect my values ??or character,” Raphinha said on Wednesday in a comment to a DAZN post that showed him gesturing to the crowd. "It was an act in a moment of tension, in response to a fan who was disrespecting me.”
Barcelona, seeking to return to the semifinals of the Champions League for the second season in a row, won 2-1 on Tuesday but it wasn't enough to overcome a 2-0 loss at home in the first leg last week.
Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso said it was nonsense for Raphinha to say Barcelona was robbed.
“I respect everyone's opinion, but let's not say that it was a robbery, because it wasn't like that,” Musso said. "We won it on the field. We won 2-0 on the road. It's a team that we respect a lot and are very motivated to play against. It's a great team, but I think that to talk about robbery is just crazy.”
Raphinha did not immediately apologize for his comments about the refereeing.
“To me, it was robbed',” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Not only this match, but the other one as well. The refereeing was very bad. Incredible the decisions that they made. Atletico made a lot of fouls and the referee didn't show a single yellow card.”
Other players also criticized the refereeing over the two legs.
President-elect Joan Laporta said Wednesday that the refereeing was “shameful” and “inadmissible,” and said the club planned to present a formal complaint with UEFA.
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