Comoros Volcano Kills 17

(Comoros Islands) Ash, boulders, and molten lava spewed from the crater of Mount Karthala yesterday as islanders fled. Thus far, reports indicate that seventeen people have died.


Comoros Islands
According to this report:

"Villagers are in total darkness, gritty rain is falling and visibility is zero," a resident from the village of Idjinkoundzi on the western flank of Mount Karthala, who gave his name as Charif, told Reuters by telephone.

The 2,361-meter (7,746-foot) Mount Karthala and its forested slopes form most of the land mass of Grande Comore, the main island in the Comoros chain, which lies 300 kilometers (190 miles) off east Africa, and which has witnessed periodic eruptions.

Jean Marc, a pilot with Comoros Aviation who flew over the summit, said: "I saw the start of a lava flow, but for the moment it's confined to the inside of the volcano."

Families from the villages of Trelezini and Tsorale piled into taxis and buses and headed for the capital, Moroni, which lies on the west coast of Grande Comore, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Karthala's crater, towering above the Indian Ocean.

A former French colony, Comoros is one of the world's poorest nations with about 650,000 people, mostly Sunni Muslims. The country is not self-sufficient in food production, therefore, rice is its largest import.