Cristina Hodgson
THE church of St.Pius, in Todoque, and its belltower have crashed down in a large plume of smoke.
Despite attempts by firefighters to try to save the church, by digging trenches around the building in a moment of reduced volcanic activity, a huge wall of lava overwhelmed the area and destroyed the bell tower along with other surrounding buildings on Sunday, September 26.
The president of the Cabildo de La Palma, Mariano Hernandez Zapata, said that the lava has destroyed one of the hallmarks of the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane.
The church, considered one of the oldest buildings in La Palma, had endured the first attack of lava on the town, but the new lava flow which entered the core of Todoque yesterday, razed the church bell tower to the ground.
The lava flow from the volcano on La Palma is now 1,600 metres from the coast with an average speed of about 100 metres per hour.
The ongoing eruption that began on September 19 in the area of Cumbre Vieja, on the island of La Palma, had been active for over a week, leaving almost 6,000 residents evacuated and some 500 buildings and infrastructures damaged or lost.
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