Tourists evacuated as Volcano erupts in European holiday hotspot

BREAKING

The famous tourist location of the Blue Lagoon Spa in Iceland has had to be evacuated as well as the nearby town Grindavik.

Magma and smoke spewed from a one kilometre long fissure at the Sundhnukur crater, southwest of the capital Reykjavik.

The alarm was raised by the Icelandic civil protection agency following the eruption, said the Icelandic Met Office.

The national broadcaster, RUV said that, according to police, guest have been evacuated from the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Images showed rising smoke and flows of yellow and orange lava, however, the main danger from the volcano is a gas cloud moving towards population centres.

Local news outlets are reporting that gas pollution is currently floating towards Vogar and nearby Reykjanesbær, Sandgerði and Garð, with advice given to keep windows closed.

The eruption started this morning 16 July at 4am local time and was the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023.

The volcano is located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which began early Wednesday, is the 12th since volcanic activity reawakened in the region in 2021.

Flights to Iceland's main airport, Keflavik Airport, have not been affected.

Iceland is notorious for its volcanoes, having 130 with around 30 of which being considered active.