GSI team to visit Andaman following Baratang mud volcano eruption

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) will send a team to Baratang Island to investigate the recent eruption at India’s only active mud volcano, officials confirmed on Sunday.

GSI Deputy Director General Shantanu Bhattacharjee said the volcano, which had been dormant for over two decades, erupted on October 2, likely triggered by tectonic movements.

“A team of seven geologists from Kolkata will visit Baratang on October 7 to inspect the site and collect mud and gas samples. Baratang already has a facility to test these samples,” Bhattacharjee said.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in a tectonically active subduction zone, which frequently causes tremors. Even volcanic activity at Barren Island is believed to be linked to tectonic shifts. Bhattacharjee added that it is too early to assess any threat until the official report is completed.

Baratang’s mud volcano, located about 150 km from Port Blair in the North and Middle Andaman district, attracts thousands of tourists each year. The volcano forms as gases from decaying organic matter deep underground push mud to the surface, creating craters and bubbling mounds.

The October 2 eruption at Jarwa Creek occurred around 1:30 pm, with witnesses reporting a loud explosion followed by a violent discharge of mud. The eruption produced an earth mound about 3-4 metres high, covering more than 1,000 sq metres. Tourist access has been temporarily suspended as a precaution. “A major eruption of this scale was last seen in 2005,” a local official said.

Meanwhile, Barren Island, around 140 km from Port Blair, experienced two minor eruptions last month, on September 13 and 20. The uninhabited island lies at the convergence of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates and has a long history of volcanic activity dating back to 1787, including notable eruptions in 1991, 2005, 2017, and November 2022.

The nearest inhabited areas to Barren Island are Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) and the Narcondam Lookout Post, both 140-150 km away.