Rescued dogs are pictured at the Woof N' Wags shelter
Rescued dogs are pictured at the Woof N' Wags shelter AFP / JOSEPH EID

A drone company is making efforts to save several dogs stranded in lava from a volcano on the island of La Palma, Spain.

Aerocamaras said Tuesday that its drone operators have permits to rescue the dogs by dropping a net on each dog and then whisking it to safety. The mission will carry the dogs 1,466 feet over lava.

La Palma's volcano has been erupting for around a month with no sign of coming to an end. The dogs have become completely cut off from any sources of food and water.

“Technically it is the most complicated thing we have done,” Jaime Pereira, chief executive of Aerocamaras and head of the mission, told Spanish broadcaster Telecinco.

The dogs have been kept on watch, they are seen looking skinny and weak with no way out from their current locations. "They've been eating very little for weeks. They might come or become scared of the drone. We really depend on their reaction," Pereira told Reuters.

Aerocamaras announced on Thursday their plan that would fly drones to the dogs and deliver food to them. While doing this, they will inspect the area of a way to carry them out using the drone.

They hope that the dogs will get used to the drones over a few days. The company says they will eventually use the food to lure them close, then drop a cargo net that would safely secure them and air transport them across the lava.

"Due to the complexity of the operation, we need calm and concentration," read a tweet Tuesday from Aerocamaras.

The mission must be precise because each net can only hold 50 pounds. This means each dog will have to be carried out one at a time and need to be timed out perfectly, Pereira explained to Telecinco.

“Either we take them out or they probably won’t be alive in a few days,” he said.

The drone operator will have four minutes to lure the dogs, and then another four minutes to fly them out due to battery life, Reuters reported.