A long-dormant volcano in southwest Iceland erupted on Friday, about 40 kilometers from the capital Reykjavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
Local media reported that incoming and outgoing air traffic was disrupted at Keflavik International Airport, the largest in the country.
The eruption occurred after thousands of minor earthquakes in the area in the past few weeks, with authorities preparing for an eruption as a result.
‘Red color code’
The Meteorological Office reported the volcanic eruption on Fagradals Mountain, declaring that “the flight’s color code is red, but very little turbulence is seen on seismometers”.
The crack caused by the eruption was about 200 meters (about 650 feet) long, the national weather service said on Twitter.
Authorities asked people to avoid the eruption site.
“We ask people to remain calm and under no circumstances approach the site of the eruption or in Reykjanesbraut. Rescuers need to be able to drive freely to assess the situation. Scientists are working to assess the eruption,” said the police.
Iceland’s Minister of Justice, Aslaug Arna Sigurbjornsdottir, shared an image of the eruption showing a night sky glowing a bright red.
Two flights were destined for Keflavik International Airport.
A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to the site to investigate the volcanic eruption, according to local media reports.
An expected outbreak
The south of the Grindavik peninsula and its Krysuvik volcanic system, a largely uninhabited area that includes Mount Keilir, has recorded at least 40,000 5.7-magnitude tremors since February 24.
Experts hoped that the lava eruption would not resemble the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which generated a huge ash cloud, disrupting some 900,000 flights across Europe.
The region is known to experience effusive eruptions, where lava flows from the ground, rather than explosives, in which ash clouds explode in the sky.
The Krysuvik volcanic system has been inactive for nearly 900 years, according to the Meteorological Office. The Reykjanes peninsula last witnessed an eruption 781 years ago.
fb / msh (AFP, DPA, Reuters)