a volcanic eruption on Jazirt Atta Ir island the Canadian navy ship H-M-C-S Toronto is conducting the search. Jazirt Atta Ir island is about 140 kilometres off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.
Navy spokesman Ken Allen, aboard H-M-C-S Toronto, says the government of Yemen formally asked NATO to assist in the search for survivors around Jazirt Atta Ir island.
He said what he called a catastrophic volcano hit the three-kilometre-long Jazirt Atta Ir island at about 7 p-m local time. Allen says lava was spewing hundreds of meters into the air, with volcanic ash also rising 300 meters into the air at Jazirt Atta Ir island.
