Volcano erupts on Spain's Canary Islands

The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday spewing out lava, ash and a huge column of smoke after days of increased seismic activity, sparking evacuations of people living nearby, authorities said. Cumbre Vieja straddles a ridge in the south of La Palma island and has erupted twice in the 20th century, first in 1949 then again in 1971. "The eruption started in the Cabeza de Vaca zone, in El Paso," the local government said on its Twitter account, adding that evacuations have started in the areas closest to the volcano. "People are asked to be extremely careful and to stay away from the eruption zone to avoid needless risk," the government added. The head of the Canaries region, Angel Victor Torres, said the zone was forested. State television ran live coverage of the eruption during late afternoon. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that he would head to the scene. "All the services are prepared to act in a coordinated fashion," he wrote on Twitter. The Interior Ministry said 200 members of the security services had been mobilised with a helicopter as back up. Experts had been keeping a close watch on the volcano which last erupted 50 years...