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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Two more infants die, toll in Jhansi medical college fire rises to 17
Jhansi (UP) (PTI): Two more infants rescued from a fire that ripped through the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College here have died, taking the total toll in the blaze to 17, a senior official said on Sunday.
Thirty-nine newborns were rescued from a devastating fire in the medical college hospital's neonatal intensive care unit on the night of November 15.
Dr Narendra Singh Sengar, the medical college's principal, told PTI that of the 39 infants rescued, two more died on Saturday.
While 10 babies died on the night of the fire, the remainder succumbed to their "illnesses", he said.
A post-mortem of the two bodies was done on Saturday and the cause of death was confirmed as "illness" in both cases. The bodies have been handed over to the family members, Sengar said.
The birth weight of both infants was 800 grams and one of them also had a hole in the heart, he added.
Meanwhile, Congress sources said on Sunday that the party's state chief Ajay Rai and Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia would travel to Jhansi and visit the medical college. They will also meet the families whose babies died in the fire.
