People stand just metres away from lava flow to watch volcano erupt
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A lava spill in Iceland has become something of a tourist attraction, despite warnings from officials to stay away.
The Fagradalsfjall volcano, 20 miles south-west of Reykjavik, erupted yesterday.
Thick smoke could still be seen billowing into the skies today as hot molten lava danced over rocks.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office has urged people not to go near the volcano, located in an uninhabited valley.
Images today show tourists flocking to the valley to take photos and videos.
People had been warned to stay away because of the risk from noxious fumes and hot magma.
Undeterred by the long walk through the valley, people spoke of the excitement of the chance to see lava so close.
One woman told the BBC: ‘I’ve been waiting years and years to see lava, it’s a life goal.
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‘When I came over that hill we decided we were going to come down and come closer, it’s a risk and we know that.
Others had gathered to take photographs with their children and fly drones over the valley.
A live video feed from the site yesterday showed magma spewing from a narrow fissure about 100 to 200 metres long over a field of lava from last year’s eruption, which only came to an end eight months ago.
The volcano is located not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub.
Luckily, flights were unaffected by the incident.
‘Currently, there have been no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open,’ the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It marked the first eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in almost 800 years.
Scientists had recorded volcanic activity close to the crust over the last week.
Volcanologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said the eruption ended up being small compared to previous blasts.
‘But we don’t know where in the process things are at,’ he said.
The 2021 eruption in the same area produced spectacular lava flows for several months.
Iceland, located above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years.
The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which sent clouds of ash and dust into the atmosphere.
The blast interrupted air travel for days between Europe and North America because of concerns the ash could damage jet engines.
More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of passengers.
‘What we know so far is that the eruption does not pose any risk to populated areas or critical infrastructure,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said in a statement.
‘We will of course continue to monitor the situation closely.’
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