Buildings near the volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma were engulfed by rivers of lava early on Saturday (October 9), with the drama of the red-hot eruption intensified by the spectacle of flashes of lightning.
Reuters footage showed a tree and buildings on fire as day broke, with jets of lava erupting from the volcano and streams of lava flowing down the hillside of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
The magma destroyed at least four buildings in the village of Callejon de la Gata, Reuters witnesses said.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on Sept. 19 and has destroyed more than 800 buildings and forced the evacuation of about 6,000 people from their homes on the island. La Palma, with a population of about 83,000, is one of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.
