Another blast from Caribbean volcano

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent — La Soufriere volcano shot out another explosive burst of gas and ash Friday as a cruise ship arrived to evacuate some of the foreigners who had been stuck on a St. Vincent island coated in ash from a week of violent eruptions.

The explosions that began April 9 forced some 20,000 people to flee the northern end of the eastern Caribbean island for shelters and also contaminated water supplies across the island.

Friday morning’s blast “wasn’t a big explosion compared to the ones that we had last weekend, but it was big enough to punch a hole through the clouds,” said Richard Robertson, lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, in an interview with local NBC radio. “Probably got up to 8,000 meters (26,000 feet).”

The eruptions so far have caused no reported deaths among a population that had received official warning a day ahead of time.

Meanwhile, British, U.S. and Canadian nationals were being evacuated aboard Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Celebrity Reflection from the harbor in Kingstown, capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ship was due to arrive in Dutch Sint Maarten today.