LA PALMA, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Intensifying volcanic explosions on the Spanish island of La Palma forced firefighters to retreat and authorities to evacuate three more towns on Friday, while airlines cancelled flights due to a cloud of gas and ash, the biggest since the volcano erupted. A Reuters witness saw a huge grey cloud billowing from the top of the volcano on Friday afternoon, the largest since the eruption began on Sunday. “The volcano is in a newly explosive phase … Firefighters will not operate anymore today,” tweeted the Tenerife fire service, which has been deployed to help on La Palma. Binter said it was forced to halt operations to and from La Palma as the ash cloud had worsened considerably in the last few hours. The airline, which had initially only cancelled night flights, could not say when it would resume operations.
