Eight soldiers missing as volcano erupts off Yemen

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SAN'A, OCT 1 (AP): A volcanic explosion rocked a tiny Yemeni island in the Red Sea, spewing lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air and forcing Yemeni authorities to evacuate a military base. NATO and Yemeni ships Monday were searching for eight missing soldiers.
The eruption Sunday evening caused a landslide that collapsed the western part of Jabal al-Tair island, the Yemeni news agency SABA reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. The tiny oval island, about 3 kilometres (2 miles) wide, lacks a settled population but includes military installations used for naval control and observation because large cargo ships pass nearby.
A NATO fleet passing nearby reported seeing a "catastrophic volcanic eruption" at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) Sunday on the island, about 115 kilometres (70 miles) off the Yemeni coast.