There is no end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has been ongoing on La Palma for a month, Canary Islands officials have said.
More than 40 tremors of varying sizes struck the island on Sunday, the largest of which measured 4.3, according to the Spanish National Geographical Institute.
Canary Islands president Angel Victor Torres, referring to information he had received from experts, said: “There are no signs that an end of the eruption is imminent even though this is the greatest desire of everyone.
“We are at the mercy of the volcano. It’s the only one who can decide when this ends,” he added.
Streams of lava have continued to pour from the volcano at the heart of the island, laying waste to more than 742 hectares (1,833 acres) of land.
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A wide area has been covered with volcanic ash and the ash plume continues to be several miles high.
So far, almost 2,000 buildings on La Palma have been destroyed since the volcano started erupting on 19 September.
About 7,000 out of the 83,000 inhabitants on the island have so far been evacuated from their homes.
Nearly 37 miles of roads have also been destroyed.
Airline Binter said on Sunday it has cancelled all its flights to La Palma because of ash from the volcano. Tui had already cancelled its La Palma flights and Condor was giving flyers the option of going via Tenerife.
Binter tweeted: “Due to the current situation of the ash cloud, operations with La Palma will continue to be paralysed throughout today. We continue to evaluate the situation.”
Out of those airlines that operate flights to La Palma, state airport operator Aena said on Sunday 22 out of the 38 flights to the island had been cancelled, but the airport there remains open.