Volcanic eruption in Yemen

A volcano erupted on a small island off Yemen, launching lava and ash hundreds of meters into the air, a Canadian naval ship near the island in the Red Sea said yesterday. . There is no information about casualties, but at least 8 people are missing.

The Yemeni government has asked NATO forces to help find survivors on the island of Jabal al-Tair, where few people reside but have military bases.

Yemen's SABA news agency confirmed the eruption of a volcano and said a military base on the island is being evacuated. It is unclear how many people are on the island - which is often used to control and monitor the navy because large cargo ships often come here.

According to Ken Allan, a navy spokesman, said the NATO fleet parked just outside the island's territorial sea reported they saw "a terrible eruption volcano" at 7 am (local time).

" At that time, the whole island was red with lava and magma spewing out and falling into the sea. We could not confirm how many people were on the island when the incident happened ," Allan said in an e-mail letter.

" Lava launched dozens of meters into the air, with ashes flying hundreds of meters into the sky ," Allan said.

The Canadian Navy said it was trying to find nine people believed to be in the sea after the Yemeni coast guard asked for help. Meanwhile, SABA news agency reported that 8 people were missing.

Yemen is a poor Sunni Muslim country located in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.