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New volcanic eruption in Iceland brings video of lava spewing from miles-long fissure on Reykjanes peninsula
Reykjavik — Icelandic authorities said Friday that a second fissure had formed on the southwestern Reykjanes peninsula after lava started spewing forth for the sixth time in the region since December. After weeks of warnings, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said Thursday that a new eruption had started at 9:26 p.m. (5:26 p.m. Eastern) that evening, following a series of earthquakes.
Video showed orange lava bursting out of a long fissure, which the IMO estimated to be 2.4 miles.
Early Friday, the IMO announced on social media that a second fissure had opened up to the north of the original one, but it said the volcanic activity mostly remained on the first crack.
The weather agency, which also monitors geological events, had previously reported that there was “considerable seismic activity” at the northern end of the fissure.
Almannavarnadeild/Anadolu via Getty
About an hour after the eruption started an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 was recorded in the area.
This is the sixth eruption to hit the area since December, coming just two months after the end of a previous eruption that lasted more than three weeks.
The chief of police of the Sudurnes region, Ulfar Ludviksson, told Icelandic media that the evacuation of the nearby fishing village of Grindavik had gone well.
He added that 22 or 23 houses in the village were currently occupied. Most of Grindavik’s 4,000 residents had evacuated in November, prior to a December eruption, and while residents have since been allowed to return in between eruptions, only a few have opted to stay overnight.
According to the IMO, there was no lava flowing towards Grindavik in the latest eruption.
Iceland’s famed Blue Lagoon thermal spa tourist attraction said late Thursday that it had taken “the precautionary measure of evacuating and temporarily closing all our operational units.”
The Reykjanes peninsula had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries until March 2021. Further eruptions occurred in August 2022 and in July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to warn that a new era of seismic activity had begun in the region.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate whether incendiary devices detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and the U.K. were part of a larger operation directed by Russian Intelligence services (in particular, the GRU — Russian military intelligence), the highest level of the Russian government or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter said.
Officials are working to determine whether the larger operation was to place similar devices on aircraft servicing the U.S. and U.S. allies. The Wall Street Journal first reported the alleged plot targeting U.S. aircraft.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment published at the end of October said the U.S. continues to be concerned about threats to the aviation and air cargo systems, including the “potential use of the air cargo supply chain to ship concealed dangerous and potentially deadly items.”
DHL said in a statement that it was aware “of two recent incidents involving shipments in our network. We are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities to protect our people, our network and our customers’ shipments.”
“We continually adjust our security posture as appropriate and promptly share any and all relevant information with our industry partners, to include requirements and recommendations that help them reduce risk,” the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement.
“Over the past several months, as part of a multi-layered security approach, TSA worked with industry partners to put additional security measures for U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers regarding certain cargo shipments bound for the United States, in line with the 2021 TSA Air Cargo Security Roadmap,” the TSA’s statement continued.
The FBI declined to comment.
contributed to this report.
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
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