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Prince Charles visits Montserrat

Other News Materials 9 March 2008 11:38 (UTC +04:00)
Prince Charles visits Montserrat

( AP )- Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, took a tour Saturday of volcanic devastation from a 1997 eruption on the British island territory of Montserrat.

The royal couple are on a five-island Caribbean tour aboard a megayacht to promote environmental protection, sustainable development and youth opportunity.

Charles played dominoes with senior citizens, and the couple was briefed on plans for a city center that is expected to open in a couple of years in the new capital of Little Bay. The former capital, Plymouth, was destroyed by the Soufriere Hills eruption that killed 19 people.

The couple also visited the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, which monitors the restless volcano and recommended evacuations last year when it shot a cloud of ash more than 5 miles high.

The volcano became active in 1995, and more than half the territory's 12,000 inhabitants have moved away.

Charles and Camilla were scheduled to leave Saturday night for Jamaica, the last stop on their tour.

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