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The Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland has erupted
Photo: ICELANDIC COAST GUARD / AFP
After a series of earthquakes, a volcano erupted in southwest Iceland.
"The eruption in Fagradalsfjall has started," said the Icelandic Meteorological Authority on Twitter on Friday.
The first report was received at 9:40 p.m. (local time).
According to the island state's meteorological service, only slight seismological fluctuations were measured on Saturday night.
Nevertheless, the surface of the volcano tore over a length of 500 meters and small lava fountains splashed up.
A glowing stream of liquid rock poured along the mountain flanks for about a square kilometer.
The civil protection and disaster control warned against approaching the volcano and obstructing the advancing emergency services.
A coast guard helicopter was sent to the scene in order to better assess the extent and consequences of the volcanic eruption.
The red glow over the silhouette of the volcano could be seen for miles in the night sky.
Mount Fagradalsfjall is located on the Reykjanes peninsula, only 40 kilometers from the capital Reykjavik, not far from Keflavik International Airport and the small fishing port of Grindavik.
Since the area is uninhabited, according to the authorities, there is currently no threat to the population.
According to the authorities, the affected volcanic system Krýsuvík has been inactive for the past 900 years.
However, the region has been under increased surveillance for several weeks after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake was recorded near Mount Keilir in late February.
As a result, there was a whole series of minor tremors.
In total, more than 50,000 earthquakes were measured, the highest number since digital records began in 1991.
Iceland has 32 active volcanic systems and an eruption occurs on average every five years.
In April 2010, the eruption of the smaller volcano Eyjafjallajökull paralyzed air traffic in Europe for a month.
More than 100,000 flights were canceled at the time, and a good ten million travelers were stuck at airports, some of them for days.
After the eruption of Fagradalsfjall, there did not seem to be any significant obstacles in air traffic.
The state airport operator Isavia did not impose a general flight ban, but only a drone exclusion zone within five kilometers of the volcano.
The most important island airport, Keflavik, through which practically all international air traffic runs, pointed to increased ash levels in the air.
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cop / dpa / AFP