Flights to La Palma disrupted due to volcano eruption

Commercial flights to the Spanish island of La Palma were disrupted on Saturday due to large amounts of volcanic ash, amid an ongoing volcanic eruption that began last week.

Flights to the neighbouring islands of Tenerife and La Gomera resumed, however, Binter airline said on Twitter. Ferries from La Palma to Tenerife were not affected. The crossing takes about four hours.

The volcano in the Cumbre Vieja nature park has been spewing ash, rock fragments and lava at a temperature of around 1,000 degrees Celsius since Sunday. The level of activity at the volcano increased on Friday.

Firefighters and other volunteers helping their efforts were forced to retreat as flow levels increased. Another three small towns with several hundred residents were evacuated in a precautionary measure.

On Saturday, however, the level of volcanic activity decreased slightly.

6,000 evacuees

About 6,000 people have been brought to safety since the eruption began.

So far, the lava has destroyed 420 houses and buried 190 hectares of land.

It remains unclear how long the volcano's first eruption in 50 years will last.