Abandoned dogs trapped by lava from La Palma volcano are being kept alive with food parcels

Abandoned dogs trapped on a tiny island of land cut off by lava from the La Palma volcano are being kept alive with food parcels delivered by drones.

Footage shows several emaciated dogs lying curled up in and around a walled, ash-covered yard cut off by volcanic lava in the mountainous area of Todoque.

They can be seen lifting their heads to look at a drone flying overhead before ambling over to the food packages dropped from the sky which they pry open with their teeth and paws to take on much-need nutrition.

In a statement, the Island Council of La Palma thanked the two local companies – Ticom Soluciones and Volcanic Life – for feeding the dogs for the past five days. They are resolved to continue as long as safety and meteorological conditions allow.

Drone footage shows the abandoned dogs using their teeth and paws to tear open food parcels delivered by drone on the Spanish island of La Palma

Footage shows several emaciated dogs lying curled up in and around a walled, ash-covered yard cut off by volcanic lava in the mountainous area of Todoque

In a statement, the Island Council of La Palma thanked the two local companies – Ticom Soluciones and Volcanic Life – for feeding the dogs for the past five days. They are resolved to continue as long as safety and meteorological conditions allow

The companies have been assisted by veterinarians who choose the nourishment and decide on portions befitting the situation.

The council said helicopters cannot fly in the area due to the hot air emanating from the lava and volcanic ash that can damage the rotors, so the dogs cannot be airlifted for the moment.

Meanwhile volunteers are working to dig out hundreds of homes buried under toxic ash in La Palma, as the island was last night hit by the strongest earthquake since a volcanic eruption almost a month ago.

Footage filmed by local Juanma Hernandez shows homes barely visible under a mountain of black ash. Volunteers with face masks on can be seen desperately digging with spades to uncover the buildings. 

The surrounding hills are also blanketed with ash, with tree tops peeking out from within the heaps. The camera pans to reveal that as far as the eye can see, the landscape is completely black with ash.

Volunteers are working to dig out hundreds of homes buried under toxic ash in La Palma, as the island was last night hit by the strongest earthquake since a volcanic eruption almost a month ago

Lava from the volcano illuminates the sky in the early hours of Thursday morning – the 25th day since eruptions began

The video emerged as the island was shaken by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake – the strongest since the Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on September 19. Pictured: An eruption on Thursday morning

Lava can be seen flowing down the slopes of Cumbre Vieja after part of its cone collapsed on Sunday night

‘If anyone wants to know how much ash has been left near the La Palma Volcano, watch this video,’ Hernandez said.

‘It’s brutal.’

Blocks of red lava, some as big as three story buildings, rolled down the hillside as La Palma volcano collapsed on itself on Sunday.

Volcanic ash has jagged edges that can cause irritation to eyes, nose and lungs, making breathing difficult. 

Volunteers are working non stop to clear roads and public buildings.

Clearing the roads is an important task for the volunteers as the thick layer of ash stops vehicles from moving.

One viewer Dave said: ‘Oh my Lord, that’s infinite work, snow melts but this…’

Another said: ‘I had not seen such a catastrophe in at least a decade since the 2011 tsunami in Japan, I hope the island can recover from this.’ 

The video emerged as the island was shaken by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake – the strongest since the Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on September 19. 

Scientists on Wednesday night registered more than 60 earthquakes, of which the biggest was felt across the whole of the island. 

Personnel from the Military Emergency Unit are also helping to clear the ash from the volcano, currently blanketing the streets of the island

Police tape cordons off a road blocked by an enormous mound of lava spewed from the Cumbre Vieja volcano

A huge deposit of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano has made this road, pictured on Thursday, completely impassable 

Footage filmed by local Juanma Hernandez shows homes barely visible under a mountain of black ash

An advertisement, pictured on Thursday, for a supermarket in La Laguna was destroyed by cooling lava from the volcano

There are now three lava tongues pouring from the volcano, one of them moving at 50 metres an hour. Pictured: Lava flowing from the volcano on Wednesday night

A couple look on as the Cumbre Vieja erupts in the early hours of Thursday morning, sending more lava creeping down its sides

The volcano is seen in the early hours of Wednesday – the 24th day since eruptions began at Cumbre Vieja

The 24-hour monitoring volcanic surveillance network of the National Geographic Institute has recorded a total of 55 earthquakes since midnight around the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, eight of them with magnitudes greater than three.

The 4.5-magnitude quake hit the municipality of Villa de Mazo, in the island’s south west, at 2.27am.  

‘I was lying in bed watching TV and I felt the bed moving. It was like someone was walking on the roof, the windows were vibrating and it woke my dog up,’ one island resident recalled. 

Scientists say the volcanic activity is not likely to end ‘in the short or medium term’.

‘The volcano is releasing a plume of gases 3,000 metres high with high amounts of sulfur dioxide, 17,774 tons per day, and that measure would have to drop to 100 to think that the eruption is coming to an end, ‘ spokeswoman for the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan, María José Blanco said.

There are now three lava tongues pouring from the volcano, one of them moving at 50 metres an hour. 

Last night, the Special Plan for Volcanic Emergencies of the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA) ordered the evacuation of new districts in the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane.

Air quality is described as good and an easterly wind is expected, which will allow the ash to move west towards the sea. At the moment all the Canarian airports are fully operational.

A firefighter helped a resident carry belongings as locals prepare to evacuate on Thursday as volcanic activity continues for a 25th day 

Workers remove containers from a gas station as they prepare to evacuate the area on Thursday amid threats of creeping lava flow

Firefighters assist residents of La Laguna as they evacuate on Thursday as lava flows continue to threaten communities

A worker strokes a dog at a temporary animal shelter set up in a sports pavilion in Los Llanos, La Palma, on Thursday

The eruption has forced the evacuation of 6,400 people. Pictured: A Spanish Civil Guard officer helps residents remove their belongings from their homes on Tuesday

Some residents and tourists have been evacuated to the nearby island of Tenerife to escape the lava flow. Pictured: Civil Guard officers carry a washing machine out of an evacuating resident’s home

Pictured: Items belonging to Enrique Gonzalez and his family are piled onto the back of a truck as they prepare to leave their home in La Laguna, La Palma on Tuesday

Tour operator TUI have cancelled flights to the island due to the continued volcanic eruption and ash clouds making flights to the island dangerous. 

So far, 680 hectares have been affected by the lava and 1,500 properties destroyed. Nearly 100 houses were devoured in the last 24 hours. 

The lava has also destroyed about 90 hectares of banana trees in the coastal area of ​​the Aridane Valley.

The eruption has forced the evacuation of 6,400 people, 5,700 in the first phase of the eruption and another 700 on Tuesday.

Around 6,000 residents and 400 tourists among the evacuated were transferred to Tenerife. Of these, 280 people are housed in the Princess hotel in Fuencaliente.

Weather forecasts suggest that the airport’s operations will not be affected for at least the next three days, because a Saharan wind will blow from the continent, directing the ashes to the west. 

However, dry air and a probable reversal may bring poor air quality tomorrow and the following day.

So far, 680 hectares have been affected by the lava and 1,500 properties destroyed. Nearly 100 houses were devoured in the last 24 hours

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (second from right) visits La Palma on Wednesday to discuss a federal government investment of €214million in reconstruction on the island

Lava rolls down to a road in Los Llanos, La Palma, on Wednesday, burning shrubbery in its path