Once, it was the picturesque jewel in the crown of Britain’s remaining overseas territories.
Until the 1990s, the Caribbean island of Montserrat, in the West Indies, was home to around 12,500 people and a rich diversity of wildlife.
But everything changed in 1995 when the island’s Soufriere Hills volcano, which had been dormant for 400 years, suddenly became active again.
Within two years, most of the locals had fled as huge sheets of molten ash and rock covered the southern half of the island, including Plymouth, its capital city.
The volcano has continued to erupt on and off ever since, meaning an exclusion zone covering more than half the island, now known as the ‘Pompeii of the Caribbean’, remains in place.
Speaking in a new documentary which airs tonight, the only person still living in the worst-affected part of the exclusion zone tells presenter Ben Fogle how the first major eruption in 1997 was ‘like an ambush’.
The Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat is seen erupting in 1997. The resulting tonnes of ash covered more than half the island
Speaking in a new documentary which airs tonight, the only person still living in the worst-affected part of the exclusion zone tells presenter Ben Fogle how the initial eruption was ‘like an ambush’. The man, known as Jumblack, grew up in a village on Montserrat that had to be permanently abandoned due to volcanic activity
The man, known as Jumblack, grew up in a village on Montserrat that had to be permanently abandoned due to volcanic activity.
He initially evacuated to Antigua but did not feel comfortable living on state handouts and so returned.
He is the only person living in the exclusion area’s zone V, which is nearest to the volcano.
He lives surrounded by abandoned homes in what was once the village of Molyneaux.
The Montserratian has no electricity and has to collect his water from a nearby spring.
Speaking in Channel 5 documentary Ben Fogle and the Buried City, he says: ‘[It was] like an ambush.
‘They didn’t tell us in school that there was a volcano there in the bushes, hiding. “Be prepared, it might come alive one of these days.”
‘So people were wondering, “what the hell is going on up there?”.
He told how he and his fellow islanders fled into ‘tents, into schools, into churches’ after the eruption, adding: ‘It was like hell. Real confusion.’
After the volcano became active again, the first major eruption occurred in 1997, killing 19 people.
Much of the island’s population initially fled to Britain, although many have since returned.
Tourism, which had been the economic lifeblood the island, was hammered, forcing Montserrat’s government to rely on British and EU aid.
Last year, work began on a new town and port on the north-west coast of the island, which is self-governing, thanks to £28million of funding provided by the UK and the Caribbean Development Bank.
The island has been an English colony since 1632 and was named after a Spanish abbey by explorer Christopher Columbus in 1493.
It is one of 14 British Overseas Territories (BOT).
Ben Fogle is seen talking with guide James Daley as they stand on hardened ash that spewed from the volcano
Ben Fogle stands amidst the ruins of a building in Montserrat’s abandoned capital, Plymouth
The Soufriere Hills volcano throws tonnes of ash and larger debris into the air as it erupts in 1997
Destroyed homes are seen covered with ash on Montserrat after the volcanic eruption in 1997
Houses and and a wrecked car are seen on the ash-covered streets of Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat
Dozens of homes on the mountain side were abandoned after being burnt out by the surges
Fogle is seen in the documentary, which airs tonight on Channel 5, walking with local guide James Daley across streaks of hardened ash and lava – known as pyroclastic flows – that spewed from the mountain when it first erupted.
The guide tells him: ‘We are walking on pyroclastic flows. All of this came down from the mountain, from the dome, and wiped out capital Plymouth.
‘I also want you to know that capital Plymouth is still in its position, nothing has moved. It’s just that this is a city that is totally buried.
Dozens of homes on the mountain side were abandoned after being burnt out by the surges, the guide added.
Speaking of the population that remains on the island, he said: ‘They are very nice people and very religious people. We are almost like a crime-free island.
‘We still leave our car keys in our cars, and we leave our homes open.
‘The population here is just under 5,000 and we once had a population of 12,500 people, pre volcanic eruptions.
‘But during the eruptions, life has changed and most people had to evacuate.’
In the 1997 eruption, the Daily Mail told at the time how scores of pets had to be abandoned by frantic islanders as they fled.
A rescue team was sent from a London-based charity to help the dogs and cats, which were flown to Florida.
A massive column of smoke billows over the Soufriere Hills volcano as it erupts in 1997
Gutted, ash-covered buildings are seen in Plymouth, Montserrat’s abandoned capital, in 1997
Speaking to promote the show, Mr Fogle said: ‘I remember the eruption happening and have always wanted to visit the island which remains an overseas territory of the UK.
‘I had read about the abandoned capital of Plymouth and had assumed that the whole island had been evacuated to I was surprised to learn that a third of the island is still inhabited.’
He added: ‘I hope that in time the exclusion zone will be resettled.
‘I think it’s wrong of the British government to preclude people from returning to the zone, to reclaim their homes and land.’
Ben Fogle and the Buried City airs tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm.
