In January 1993, six scientists and three hikers were scalded and crushed to death when they ventured into the smoking mouth of the active volcano Galeras in Colombia, confident that no eruption was imminent. NOVA tells the gripping story of this controversial field trip.

In January 1993, six scientists and three hikers were scalded and crushed to death when they ventured into the smoking mouth of the active volcano Galeras in Colombia, confident that no eruption was imminent. NOVA tells the gripping story of this controversial field trip and the quest to predict when volcanoes will blow. Tragically, the key to Galeras'impending eruption may have been in plain sight, though inadvertently missed by trip leader Stanley Williams of Arizona State University. Williams has subsequently been accused of ignoring the clues and leading his colleagues into a deathtrap, from which only he and a handful of others escaped.