Madrid: Roads have remained closed and flights cancelled as the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano located in Spain’s La Palma island continued for a sixth day.
As of Friday, the lava flow from the volcano has destroyed over 350 homes and covered over 165 hectares to a depth of up to 15 metres since the eruption began on September 19, Xinhua news agency reported.
Over 6,000 people from the island’s population of just over 80,000 have been evacuated.
The volcano emits between 6,140 and 11,500 tons of sulphur dioxide (SO2) every day, according to the Vulcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN).
The institute has also estimated that the eruption could last for 24 to 84 days.
On Thursday, Spain’s King Felipe VI, his wife Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez travelled to La Palma, where they met people affected by the eruption.
This was the Prime Minister’s second visit to La Palma in five days.
The volcano’s three previous recorded eruptions were 24 days in 1971, 47 days in 1949 and 56 days in 1712.
