Experts fear volcano on La Palma tourist hotspot may erupt after 40 tremors in just 48 hours on Canary island

The most active volcano in the Canary Island is on La Palma, which has been rocked by dozens of mini earthquakes

THE island of La Palma in the tourist destination of the Canary Islands has been rocked by DOZENS of earthquakes in just 48 hours, sparking fears it's volcano could be about to blow.

More than 40 mini quakes were recorded over the weekend, measuring between 1.5 and 2.7 on the Richter scale.

The news has sparked panic across the island's 86,000 residents, with fears the active volcano Cumbre Vieja could be set to erupt.

The largest of the tremors which hit on 1pm on Saturday, registered 2.7 on the Richter scale and took place at 17.4 miles Underground.

This was narrowly followed by a quake of 2.6 at the same time on Sunday, and a third of 2.1 hitting the island at midnight on Monday.

Another ten tremors were recorded in the following hours.

Incredibly, the islanders did not actually feel the earthquake because the seismic movement is happening at a great depth.

However, worried government officials have called in volcano experts to examine the out of the ordinary seismic activity, which has been dubbed 'a seismic swarm.'

Maria José Blanco, director of the National Geographic Institute on the island, said the island has never experienced a similar swarm.

The last time the volcano erupted was in 1971 but La Palma is considered to be the most active island in the archipelago.

This time last year, it was the turn of neighbouring island Mount Teide to be hit with a series of mini earthquakes, after experiencing 100 mini tremors in just four hours.