Madrid, Sept. 28 (BUS): Lava began flowing again from a volcano on the Canary island of La Palma on Monday after being briefly stopped for two hours earlier in the day.
Lava flows have resumed, and a large black cloud can be seen again over the volcano in Cumbre Vega, state television RTVE reports, German news agency DPA reports.
The volcano had abruptly subsided earlier in the day, after an eight-day eruption that caused widespread destruction and led to evacuations and curfews.
Since the volcano has erupted, it is not clear how long it might last. A volcanologist said on Monday that such outages were not unusual and that it was too early to say whether the eruption had finally ended.
The lava flow was approaching the sea on Monday and was only 800 meters from the island’s western coast, prompting authorities to impose a curfew on several nearby towns.
They warned that toxic fumes may form in the form of lava with a temperature of up to 1000 degrees Celsius and contact with salt water, forming hydrochloric acid.
Curfews were in place in the cities of San Borondon, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa, with people told not to leave their homes and to keep their windows and doors closed.
However, no further evacuations were required, as those whose homes were believed to be in danger had already been evacuated.
The lava flow was moving rapidly toward the coast on Sunday, as it passed through the town of Todoc, destroying the Church of San Pew X in the process.
Members of the congregation quickly managed to rescue a statue of Jesus on the cross, and other sacred statues and images before the bell tower fell, surrounded by thick clouds of smoke. However, they were unable to save the altar.
However, no further evacuations were required, as all those believed to be in danger of the lava flow were told to leave their homes.
The lava streams were about 600 meters wide and were accelerating as they rolled down the mountain.
Air traffic with the island was suspended again in the late afternoon. The airline, Pinter, said after one flight that conditions did not allow for safe operations.
The live flight trackers, which display all reported flights in real time on the internet, did not record any flight movements to or from the island in the evening.
Otherwise travelers were able to take ferries to Tenerife and long lines formed as people lined up for boats.
HF