[imagesource: Reuters]

Despite the grave danger of the situation in the Canary Islands, Spanish tourism minister Reyes Maroto has announced that the island of La Palma will remain open for visitors.

Following thousands of tremors that shook the island, the Cumbre Vieja volcano finally exploded on Sunday, marking the first volcanic eruption in 50 years in the Canary Islands.

Thousands were evacuated, including elderly locals and farm animals in the vicinity, right before the eruption at around 3PM local time.

Two hours after the initial evacuations, five rivers of lava made their way down the mountain, with authorities concerned that lava flowing into the sea could lead to the release of toxic gases.

A freighting six-metre wall of magma flowed down the mountain’s hillsides toward nearby villages, crushing everything in its path, including an estimated 12o homes.

Meanwhile, Maroto described the eruption as a “wonderful show” for tourists.

This is despite the intense evacuations that had to take place, per The Independent:

More than 6 000 people have been evacuated so far, including those in the village of El Paso after lava started spewing from a new crack in the volcano yesterday.

…Some 360 tourists were also evacuated following the eruption, and taken to the nearby island of Tenerife by boat on Monday, said a spokesperson for ferry operator Fred Olsen.

Drone footage shows the moment the 1 000°C lava pours into a swimming pool on La Palma, causing the water to boil and steam to rise:

Additional footage shows the molten lava destroying more homes:

The situation is not really the sort of thing that anyone should be encouraged to stick around for.

Maroto, speaking to radio station Canal Sur, emphasised that tourists can stay and lap up the “unusual” sight:

 “There are no restrictions on going to the island… on the contrary, we’re passing on the information so tourists know they can travel to the island and enjoy something unusual, see it for themselves.”

The secretary-general of the opposition People’s Party, Teodoro Garcia Egea, couldn’t believe what he was hearing, asking:

“Can someone confirm the minister said that while hundreds of people are losing everything they have?”

It is a little bit like the movie Jaws, where Larry Vaughn, the obdurate mayor of Amity, insists on keeping the beach open despite the obvious presence of a massive shark with a penchant for eating humans.

Let’s just hope that tourists have more common sense than the Spanish minister.

[source:independent]