Nine days after eruption, lava from La Palma volcano reaches ocean

Pigeons fly at dawn in front of the lava and smoke, following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, in El Paso, Spain, September 28, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

LA PALMA, Spain (Reuters) - Red hot lava from a volcano that devastated the Spanish island of La Palma reached the Atlantic Ocean late on Tuesday evening, nine days after it started to flow down the mountain, wrecking buildings and destroying crops.

Big clouds of white steam billowed up from the Playa Nueva area as the lava made contact with the ocean, according to Reuters images. Photographs shared on social media showed the lava piling up near a cliff.