Los Llanos de Aridane Town Council, in conjunction with the La Palma Island Council, has completed the removal of some 30,000 cubic metres of lava from the Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles cemetery, in Las Manchas, where the lava flows from the 2021 eruption affected approximately 65 per cent of the site and 1,500 burial niches, of which 1,212 have been recovered.
The operation, the removal of lava from which marks the completion of one phase of the work, has enabled more than 80 per cent of the affected niches to be restored, and work can now continue with further measures aimed at fully restoring the site and improving its facilities.
The mayor of Los Llanos de Aridane, Javier Llamas, has compared the volume of material removed to a football pitch covered in lava up to ten metres high, or to a line of lorries loaded with lava stretching from Las Manchas to Los Llanos «and back».
Las Manchas: The cemetery is being uncovered centimetre by centimetre
Llamas particularly highlighted the difficulty of working in the niches, where the workers had to advance «centimetre by centimetre» to avoid causing damage and to enable the families to regain access to their loved ones.
In this regard, he has acknowledged the work of the cemetery staff, as well as that of the municipal gravedigger, for putting their experience and knowledge of the cemetery at the service of the restoration work.
The mayor also pointed out that the project had demonstrated that areas which, following the eruption, had seemed beyond recovery could be rebuilt with «patience, care and affection», and he considered that the restoration of the cemetery has a value that goes beyond the infrastructure itself.
However, he pointed out that around 288 burial niches in the former communal cemetery could not be recovered, a situation which, he said, the City Council has communicated to the families with «respect and clarity».
Island Council emphasises the emotional significance of the cemetery renovation
The president of the La Palma Island Council, Sergio Rodríguez, has emphasised the emotional aspect of the cemetery’s restoration, noting that for some families, the loss or damage to their burial sites represented «a second period of mourning» on top of the loss of their homes and livelihoods caused by the eruption.
Rodríguez has congratulated Los Llanos de Aridane Town Council and has given an assurance that the Island Council «has been, is and will continue to be» by the municipality’s side as it works to restore its infrastructure.
The island’s president has stated that the restoration of the Las Manchas cemetery marks «another stage» for the neighbourhood and allows people to look to the future «with hope», whilst arguing that the reconstruction following the eruption must be approached as a process that affects the whole island.
«La Palma is reopening 1,212 family burial niches»
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