La Palma volcano: Residents told to stay indoors amid poisonous gas fears as 1,000° C lava reaches sea (VIDEO)

Lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands has reached the sea, Spanish volcanologists said late on Tuesday. They warned that toxic gases could be released as the magma hits the seawater.

"The lava flow has reached the sea at Playa Nueva," Involcan, the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute, wrote on Twitter.

Entering the water, the lava created "an impressive deposit 50 meters high" in less than 45 minutes, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography told the newspaper El Pais.

Cumbre Vieja began erupting on September 19 for the first time in 50 years. Volcanologists say they cannot predict how long it will remain active.