Residents End Battle With Lava Volcano Taking Over Island; Some Areas Too Hot For Copters

With hugs and handshakes, dozens of people said farewell to loved ones Sunday when a hastily arranged ferry service reconnected volcano-stricken Montserrat to the rest of the world.

The Caribbean island had been virtually cut off since Wednesday, when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted with avalanches of fiery debris that killed at least nine people and forced Montserrat’s lone airstrip and main pier to close. The victims were the first fatalities of the volcano, which became active two years ago.

Men, women and children piled their belongings into two ships at Carr’s Bay for the two-hour journey to Antigua.

Many had been trapped on this British colony during visits. Others were leaving for good.

“It’s hard to start a new life, to start everything fresh,” said Ellen Peters, whose family was fleeing the island. A teddy bear sat atop her suitcases piled on the pier.

Montserrat’s population of 11,000 had already dwindled to 6,000 since the volcano became active in 1995. With the eruption, the volcano has nearly halved the area where people can live safely on this 7-by-11 mile island.

Hundreds of people had already taken advantage of a British government program to help them resettle in Britain. Others decided to stay.

“I would love to leave but I can’t. I got to get myself set up first,” said George Ryan, who was seeing off relatives at the pier.

Beyond, the British destroyer HMS Liverpool lay at anchor, its crew assisting in recovery efforts.

A helicopter from the Liverpool and choppers from Barbados, Trinidad and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory searched for 19 people still missing Sunday. More than 50 people have been pulled to safety in harnesses flung from the helicopters because the ground was too hot to land.

For the first time since Wednesday, rescuers conducted a house-to-house search in three villages that ring the 3,000-foot volcano. In other areas, volcanic ash up to 15 feet deep was still too hot to approach.

Entire villages were wiped out by the mix of rock, ash and gas.

The deaths occurred in an area declared off-limits more than a year ago. Dozens of people, however, returned to tend to farm plots and animals. Some had simply tired of living in overcrowded shelters in churches and schools.

Authorities have struggled to keep up with blows dealt by the unpredictable mountain. An ash flow on Saturday ignited vegetation near a new hospital in the southern capital, Plymouth, evacuated in 1996. Further flows could engulf the town, where the rice mill, main pier and gasoline storage tanks are located.

Only one service station is open, in St. John’s. Word that a gas truck had made a delivery Saturday brought hundreds of motorists to a mile-long line. Some waited more than two hours, only for the station to run out.