Spain: Volcanic island’s banana growers get a lift from navy

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish Navy has started helping farmers on the volcanic island of La Palma to reach their lava-surrounded banana plantations by sea. A 5-degree earthquake overnight was a reminder that the eruption on the Atlantic Ocean island of 85,000 remained strong despite scientists recording a lower overall seismic activity during the past week. More than 1,000 hectares of island surface is covered by lava and over 7,000 people have been evacuated, with no casualties reported as a result of the eruption. On Thursday, four barges from the amphibian assault vessel “Castilla” deployed to La Palma were being used to save the farmers time, instead of taking a long drive around the island to reach their plantations.