Firefighters retreat, 3 more towns evacuated as Spanish volcanic eruptions intensify

Intensifying volcanic explosions on the Spanish island of La Palma forced firefighters to retreat and authorities to evacuate three more towns on Friday, while airlines cancelled flights due to a cloud of gas and ash, the biggest since the volcano erupted.

Firefighters pulled out of clean-up work in the town of Todoque on Friday afternoon as a new vent opened up in the flank of the volcano and a massive shockwave emanating from the eruption site could be heard on videos shared to social media. 

A Reuters witness saw a huge grey cloud billowing from the top of the volcano on Friday afternoon, the largest since the eruption began on Sunday.

"The volcano is in a newly explosive phase … Firefighters will not operate anymore today," tweeted the Tenerife fire service, which has been deployed to help on La Palma.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba that had not already been evacuated on Friday afternoon, with residents told to assemble at the local football ground.

Canary Islands emergency services initially told residents to stay indoors to avoid the dense cloud of ash and lava fragments, but they later decided to evacuate due to the heightened risk from explosions.

It wasn't just people being evacuated, but animals, too.