HUNDREDS LEAVE AS RIVER OF LAVA NEARS HOMES

LA PALMA Over 700 residents were ordered to abandon their homes on Tuesday on the Spanish island of La Palma as red-hot lava advanced toward their neighbourhood.

As the river of molten rock descended from the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the northeast of the Canary island, authorities ordered between 700 and 800 inhabitants of La Laguna to leave home with their belongings and pets, according to the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca).

“We have been obliged to evacuate a new area. The lava is advancing slowly. People should have time to take their documents, their personal items and anything of value,” said Miguel Angel Morcuende, technical director of Pevolca.

Earlier on Tuesday, officials lifted a lockdown ordered because of a cloud of smoke over two villages caused by the eruption, allowing more than 3,000 residents to go outside.