La Palma volcano blows open new vent, threatens to collapse | DW News

Eruptions from a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma have intensified, with a new vent opening up, releasing more lava. More than 400 homes have been destroyed so far. Ash and dust from the new fissure have forced the island’s authorities to ground air travel until further notice. The fiery cauldron of Cumbre Vieja is spewing livid magma and clouds of ash. A week of eruptions has created a cone more than one hundred meters high, which is now beginning to collapse under its own weight, unleashing a river of lava. Residents of La Palma can only watch and wonder what will come next. A new vent opened over the weekend. It’s feared more homes may be swallowed by lava. Already hundreds of properties have been destroyed. Those evacuated days ago still cannot return to retrieve belongings. The island’s banana plantations are also under threat. Airport workers clear a blanket of ash from the runway, though all flights have been suspended. Tourists are evacuating by sea, abandon