Lockdown ends for 3,000 La Palma residents as volcano cloud passes

LA PALMA, Spain: More than three thousand residents of La Palma were told on Tuesday they can leave their homes after authorities ended a lockdown caused by a thick cloud of smoke from a volcano that has devastated the Spanish Canary island.

A stream of red-hot lava gushing from the Cumbre Vieja volcano engulfed a cement plant on Monday, raising clouds of smoke and prompting authorities to order people in the area stay at home.

Emergency services instructed residents in the towns of El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane to remain indoors, shut their windows and turn off air conditioning units to avoid inhaling toxic fumes from the burning cement plant as it was being gradually swallowed by the lava.