The Canaries are safe and the volcano is a great show, says minister

FILE PHOTO: Lava rises following the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 19, 2021. Pictures taken September 19, 2021. REUTERS/Borja Suarez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo

LA PALMA, Spain (Reuters) - The Canary Islands are safe to visit and a volcano eruption there is a "wonderful show", Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on Monday, just hours after 5,000 people, including hundreds of tourists, had to be evacuated.

The volcano - the archipelago's first eruption in 50 years - blew on Sunday, spouting lava hundreds of metres into the air, engulfing houses and sending molten rock towards the Atlantic Ocean across a sparsely populated area of La Palma, the most northwestern island in the archipelago.