Volcano in Iceland erupts with lava fountains, disrupts heating and roads

A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky and triggering the evacuation of the Blue Lagoon spa, one of the island nation’s biggest tourist attractions.

The eruption began about 6 a.m. along a 3-kilometer (nearly 2-mile) fissure northeast of Mount Sylingarfell, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Several communities on the Reykjanes Peninsula were cut off from heat and hot water after a river of lava engulfed a supply pipeline.

The eruption site is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people that was evacuated before a previous eruption on December 18. The Meteorological Office said there was no immediate threat to the town Thursday.