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Volcano erupts again near Iceland capital

Staff WritersDeutsche Presse Agentur
Iceland officials say a volcano has erupted near Reykjavik where an eruption took place last year. (AP PHOTO)
Camera IconIceland officials say a volcano has erupted near Reykjavik where an eruption took place last year. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AP

An expected volcanic eruption has started in Iceland following a flurry of seismic activity.

The eruption started near the mountain Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula south west of Reykjavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Wednesday afternoon.

Live images from the Icelandic broadcaster RUV showed lava bubbling out of the earth in the area.

How big the eruption will grow to could not be estimated initially.

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The Reykjanes peninsula is located about 30 kilometres from the capital.

There had already been an eruption of this kind on it last year.

Afterwards, lava from an underground volcanic system called Krysuvik repeatedly gushed out of the earth's interior for about five months.

As then, the renewed eruption has been heralded in recent days by a series of earthquakes, some of them powerful.

Scientists had therefore expected that an eruption was due.

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