Watch live as the La Palma volcano continues to spew lava

Firefighters were forced to retreat and three more towns have been evacuated amid ongoing volcanic explosions on the Spanish island of La Palma.

The return of volcanic activity also caused airlines to cancel flights due to a “large” cloud of gas and ash, thought to be the biggest since the volcano erupted on Sunday.

Authorities on Friday ordered the evacuation of the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba.

Firefighters had to withdrew from the town of Todoque owing to a “high presence of ash”, the local fire service said on Twitter.