Incredible footage shows 100m spurts of lava shooting out of an Icelandic ridge after a volcano erupted earlier this week.
Skies turned orange and immense smoke clouds took over the site near the town of Grindavik.
Thousands of people were evacuated in the Reykjanes peninsula after a volcano in the South West erupted on Monday night.
A hiker was rescued by a helicopter after sending a SOS signal when he got lost near the lava and toxic fumes overnight.
Incredible footage shows 100m spurts of lava shooting out of an Icelandic ridge after a volcano erupted earlier this weekIcelandic CoastguardScientists have now warned that the volcanic eruption in Iceland could go on for months, according to the country's foreign minister.
Bjarni Benediktsson added that the eruption was “much larger” than others seen over recent years, which he described as “nice touristic eruptions”.
Despite bubbling lava spreading across the area, people have still been attempting to get close enough to see the natural disaster first hand.
The Icelandic Met Office has said that more vents are expected to open.
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Residents in Grindavík will be allowed back into the town during the day starting today but must evacuate again by 4pm.
Úlfar Lúðvíksson, police chief in the region, said: “Many things have changed in the eruption area.
"Watching the eruption today is completely different than on Monday night. There have been changes there, hopefully positive."
The Icelandic Met Office added: "The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) assesses that the likelihood of a new eruption forming without warning nearby Grindavík has decreased.
Despite bubbling lava spreading across the area, people have still been attempting to get close enough to see the natural disaster first hand
Icelandic Coastguard
"It should be noted that although the likelihood of vent formation within area 4 has decreased, the hazard level in that area is nevertheless considered substantial.
"Even though the activity has decreased since the eruption began, the intensity of the eruption is still significant and comparable to eruptions at Fagradalsfjall."
The Icelandic government has said the volcanic eruption “does not present a threat to life”, as experts suggested that Grindavík could be spared as the lava appears to be flowing away from the town.
However, Halldor Geirson, an associate professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, said Grindavik is still at risk of danger to life.
