Volcano erupts on Canary Island of La Palma as villages evacuated

Lava and smoke are seen following the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on La Palma. Photo: Reuters/Borja Suarez

Borja Suarez

A volcano has erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma sending jets of lava and a plume of smoke and ash into the air from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island.

Authorities had begun evacuating the infirm and some farm animals from surrounding villages before the eruption at 2.15pm today on a wooded slope in the sparsely populated Cabeza de Vaca area, according to the islands' government.