'It's not over yet': La Palma crater collapses hurling 'volcanic bombs'

Drone footage by the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalucía (ICMAN-CSIC) shows lava flowing from the volcano after another fissure was blown open

Part of an erupting volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma caved in and unleashed a cascade of yet more red-hot lava.

The north side of the Cumbre Vieja crater blew open on Sunday night, causing a faster stream of molten rock to surge down the hillside.

However, officials said they do not expect to evacuate any more people from the area because the lava followed the same route to the sea as previous flows which have now hardened.

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute showed images of football-sized chunks of lava, which it called “volcanic bombs,” hurled hundreds of meters from the crater.

María José Blanco, a director of the National Geographic Institute on the Canary Islands, said the crater acted "like a dam" and when part of its wall collapsed, the molten rock poured out from the "lava lake" inside.

The volcano, which erupted two weeks ago, had subsided for several days last week but after the latest collapse, Canary Islands’ regional president warned "it's not over yet".

Ángel Víctor Torres told broadcaster RTVE: “We don’t even know how long there is to go. We’re in nature’s hands.”

The latest collapse came just 24 hours after the island saw its "most horrible day" since the volcano erupted with two further fissures sending streaks of fiery red and orange lava towards the sea.

They intensified the stream of molten rock that flowed down into the ocean prompting fears it could trigger explosions and release toxic gases.The river of lava is now 4,100 feet wide - 1,000 feet wider than it was on Sunday when the crater partially crumbled.

Meanwhile, the entire area covered by lava has grown to more than 1,020 acres and the new rocky shelf on the shore where the lava meets the Atlantic Ocean now covers around 80 acres, according to Miguel Ángel Morcuende of the regional volcano emergency department.

More earthquakes also rattled the island Monday - though officials said they were deep underground and weren't expected to create new fissures.

But the lava is causing significant damage to property, public infrastructure and farmland.

It has so far partially or completely wrecked more than 1,000 buildings - mostly homes - and destroyed about 20 miles of roads, according to a European Union satellite monitoring agency.

The prompt evacuation of more than 6,000 people since the eruption first struck on September 19 has helped prevent casualties.

Local authorities prepared to distribute drinking water to homes after the lava flow broke public supply pipes.The volcanic emergency committee has also ordered emergency workers and scientists to pull back from the area around the volcano because of poor air quality.