REYKJAVIK - A volcanic eruption started on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Thursday, the third to hit the area since December, authorities said.
Live video images showed glowing lava oozing out of a fissure illuminating a plume of smoke rising up under the night sky.
"At 5:30 this morning an intense seismic activity started north-east of Mt. Sylingarfell. Around 30 minutes later, a volcanic eruption started at the site," the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement.
IMO added that based on an initial assessment from a flyover by the Coast Guard, the fissure was about three kilometres (two miles) long.
It occurred in the same area as two previous eruptions -- the first on December 18 and the second on January 14 -- near the fishing village Grindavik.
On November 11, Grindavik was evacuated after hundreds of earthquakes damaged buildings and opened up huge cracks in roads.
Two cracks formed during the second eruption, with the second appearing right on the edge of town, sending orange lava flowing into the streets and reducing three homes to ashes.
Due to the volcanic eruptions, Grindavik's future has been shrouded in uncertainty for the last few months.