RED ALERT

State of emergency as Iceland erupts again

- ADAM ASPINALL

THE sky over Reykjavik glows an eerie red as lava is hurled into the air by raging volcanoes.

Iceland's Meteorological Office said the eruption opened a fissure in the Earth almost two miles long between the mountains of Stora Skogfell and Hagafell.

Lava defences were being tested last night as a red-hot stream flowed towards the small coastal town of Grindavik, about 30 miles southwest of the capital.

The volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the country erupted for the fourth time in three months on Saturday night. Hundreds of guests were evacuated from the nearby Blue Lagoon thermal spa, one of the country's top tourist attractions as a state of emergency was declared.