SANAA, Oct 1: Eight Yemeni soldiers were killed in a volcanic eruption on an island off the country’s Red Sea Coast on Sunday.

The volcano erupted in the night, spewing lava hundreds of metres into the air.

“At least eight are regarded as dead now,” a government official said. The eruption occurred on Jabal al-Tair, an island 130kms from Yemen.

Yemen has had a military base on the island since its 1996 conflict with Eritrea over the nearby islands of Hanish and Jabal Zuqar. Al-Arabiya television quoted witnesses as saying the island was engulfed in fire before disappearing.

“At least 49 soldiers were evacuated from the island,” the television said. A defence ministry official said the western part of the island had “collapsed” following the eruption.—Reuters