“A dramatic spectacle is unfolding in the Andaman Islands,” we learn from the pioneering scuba diving yacht Infiniti live-aboard, which was launched in 2013 by diver and entrepreneur Sunil Bakshi, who witnessed an unbelievably unique sight along with everyone else on board.
Last week, the yacht was at Barren Island, a remote and uninhabited ancient island in the Andamans that is home to the only active volcano in South Asia, with a group of American travellers. All those lucky enough to be on board watched as plumes of smoke and ash along with occasional bursts of lava errupted from the 1.8 million year old volcano. As Bakshi describes it, “It was an unbelievable sight to be here at this ancient volcano and to watch it in live action. We did a few dives in the surrounding waters, which was an underwater paradise of stunning coral – hard and soft, unique lava formations and unbelievable numbers of schooling fish; and we got very close to exotic marine wildlife such as Giant Oceanic Manta Rays, dolphins, nudibranch. The whole experience was like entering an otherworldly fantastic realm.”
The Barren Island volcano is situated at the cross of the seismically active Indian and Burmese plates, and was dormant for 159 years before it suddenly erupted in 1991, with eruptions that spanned over six months. Since the 90s, there have been at least three eruptions, with the most recent record being in 2005, that is, until now. And this time we’re lucky enough to witness the smoky spectacle through pictures courtesy Infiniti.