A volcanic eruption started on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Thursday, the third to hit the area since December, authorities said.
Images showed glowing lava flowing from a fissure, illuminating a plume of smoke rising up into the night sky.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said: “At 5.30 this morning intense small earthquake activity began northeast of Sylingarfell. About 30 minutes later, an eruption began in the same area.”
IMO added that based on an initial assessment from a flyover by the Coast Guard, the fissure was about 1.86 miles (3 kilometres) long.
It occurred in the same area as previous eruptions on Dec 18 2023 and Jan 14 2024, near the fishing village of Grindavik, which had been evacuated.
Iceland is home to over 30 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.
It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
Until March 2021, the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries.
Fresh eruptions occurred in August 2022, and July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to say it was probably the start of a new era of activity in the region.
