A volcano in southwest Iceland that erupted in late March has a new fissure that expels lava that forced the evacuation of hundreds of hikers on Monday. The volcano, which is about 20 miles from Iceland’s capital Reykjavík, has caused tens of thousands of earthquakes in the past three weeks. Tourists flocked to the fire scene, with an estimated 30,000 visitors since the volcano was reactivated. The new crack detected on Monday is about 550 meters long, but does not pose an immediate threat to life as it is far from hiking trails, Iceland’s Emergency Management Department said. Even so, the entire area was evacuated. Geophysicist Magnus Gudmundsson told the AP that the volcano’s activity may be entering a second stage and heading north. “We now see less lava coming out of the two original craters,” he said. “This could be the start of the second phase.”
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