After the volcanic eruption on La Palma, the glowing lava eats its way further, over houses and entire villages.
An expert fears a "clash of the titans".
La Palma - After the volcanic eruption on the Canary Island of La Palma, the situation does not relax even days after the first eruption.
More than 300 houses have already been destroyed by the incessantly rolling lava over the villages, and thousands of people had to flee from the lava flow.
A drone video now shows extreme dimensions, only a house is spared from the lava masses.
After a volcanic eruption on La Palma: Lava overflows the whole village - but a house is spared
As a report published on Wednesday by the European Earth observation service Copernicus confirmed, a total of 320 buildings have been destroyed by the lava since Sunday.
The number of affected houses is likely to have risen sharply again since Wednesday.
But individual residents should still have hope, because a photo now shows a rare ray of light: in the middle of the dangerous lava flow, a single house is spared.
On the recording, however, you can see how the glowing lava passes the house and completely seals it off from the outside world.
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Spain, La Palma: A house is surrounded by lava and embers and was spared after the volcanic eruption.
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Originally it was expected that the lava flow would reach the seashore on Monday evening, but the flow rate then slowed down.
The experts fear that toxic gases could form as soon as the hot lava flows into the water.
Researcher David Calvo from the Canarian volcano research institute Involcan urged extreme caution in view of the expected gases and water vapors and compared the encounter of lava and seawater with a "battle of the titans".
Volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands: will the lava soon flow into the sea?
Expert fears "clash of the titans"
Explosions of glowing lava rocks and boiling hot tidal waves are also possible, according to the USGS earthquake monitoring station.
The regional government of the Canary Islands imposed a restricted area within two nautical miles around the place where the calculations suggest that the lava could flow into the sea.
However, it no longer seems absolutely certain whether the lava will actually reach the water.
On Thursday, the lava flow was still around two and a half kilometers from the coast, but the speed was significantly reduced.
The Cumbre Vieja erupted on Sunday for the first time in 50 years.
More than 6000 people have since had to be brought to safety, including 400 tourists who were brought to Tenerife.
According to Involcan, the eruption can last anywhere from three to twelve weeks.
The Canaries, which also include the popular holiday islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote, are of volcanic origin.
The last eruption of the Cumbre Vieja occurred in 1971.
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