Volcanic eruption in La Palma: a body found in the security perimeter

A man was found dead Saturday morning in the security perimeter set up because of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said, still unaware of the cause of death.

The eruption, underway for nearly two months (56 days) had so far not killed anybody but the lava flows and the gas emissions had forced the authorities to close part of the territory of the island.

Read also Travel diary in the Iceland of the origins

It is in this area that the body of a man was found, in the town of El Paso, the civil guard confirmed to AFP, without giving further details on the identity of the victim, the circumstances. of his death or the discovery of his body.

Access to the place had been occasionally authorized in order to allow residents to recover personal effects, added the civil guard.

"

", also declared during a press conference Miguel Angel Morcuende, the technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca).

He added that the authorities remained "

", the date of the results of which was not yet known.

Read also Volcanic eruption in the Canaries: a tragedy that fascinates and attracts

The lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano have already devastated 1,018 hectares and washed away several thousand buildings, including houses, and destroyed many crops, including banana plantations.

Several hundred of the 85,000 inhabitants of the island have been evacuated and relocated since the start of this eruption, the third in a century, after that of the San Juan volcano in 1949 and that of Teneguia in 1971.