Spanish volcano more active, spews 'giant lava fountain'

MADRID: A volcano erupting for the past five weeks on the Spanish island of La Palma is more active than ever, officials said Monday, after new lava flows following a partial collapse of the crater threatened to engulf previously unaffected areas.

A powerful new river of molten rock gushed out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano early Monday. The Canary Islands volcanology Institute described it as "a giant lava fountain.”

"We’re in a new phase, which is much more intense,” Pedro Hernández, a researcher at the institute, told public broadcaster RTVE.