Images and video released by local news agency RUV show lava and smoke spewing from a fissure in the ground. A “code red” was declared on Wednesday to ban planes from flying over the immediate site, although helicopters will be sent to investigate the situation, the IMO told Reuters. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register If the eruption is confirmed to be similar to fissures seen last year, the aviation alert would likely be downgraded to amber, signaling less danger, an agency spokesman said. The Reykjavík Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hotspot southwest of Reykjavík. In March of last year, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a fissure 500 to 750 meters (1,640 to 2,460 feet) long. Volcanic activity in the area continued until September, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the scene. Unlike the 2010 eruption of the ice-capped volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which grounded about 100,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders to flee their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere. Located between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, one of the largest on the planet, Iceland experiences frequent earthquakes and has high volcanic activity as the two plates move in opposite directions. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard: Editing by Terje Solsvik, Toby Chopra and Lisa Shumaker; Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
