Footage shows the crater of a younger volcano at the site of the known volcano Fagradalsfjall of Iceland collapsing “spectacularly” and spewing lava into the air.

Watch the video:

The volcano formed less than two weeks ago when an underground eruption opened a 1.7-mile fissure in Iceland’s Reykjavik peninsula, southwest of the capital Reykjavik.

A “seismic swarm” of 7,000 earthquakes had preceded the region while tectonic activity slowed for about a week after the eruption,

Three days ago though, it was reinforced with “a significant change in airway activity during the night”according to a research team at the University of Iceland.

The crater filled to the brim with lava and the fountain began to eject it over the edges of the crater, causing a section of it to collapse.

The latest eruption is classified as a fissure eruption, which typically does not result in large explosions or a significant amount of ash in the stratosphere, the Icelandic government said.

Scientists said the temperature of the lava flowing from the crater was about 2,192°F (1,200°C).

“It was slowly filling with lava, putting pressure on the newly formed and unstable crater walls.”

“This is not unusual in an eruption and was expected – although neither the exact location nor the timing was known beforehand.”

“It was nice to have it all caught on camera, obviously, mainly because it was quite a large collapse, changing the flow of the lava flow to the west.”

Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, associate professor of geography at the University of Iceland, said there had been some “worry” because two people were in the area just over an hour before the crater collapsed.

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While he added that “of course he shouldn’t have been there since the area so close to the crater is closed and extremely dangerous.”

Nevertheless, according to Icelandic Meteorological Office there is no wider risk to the public because the immediate vicinity is uninhabited.

Scientists now plan to monitor the volcano’s behavior amid fears of further lava flows that could spark forest fires and worsen air quality in the region.

The civil protection and emergency management department said that police, following the advice of scientists, decided to restrict access to the site of the explosion due to the huge and life-threatening toxic gas pollution.

The area has exploded twice in the last two years without causing any damage or riots, while in 2021, the explosion that occurred turned into attraction with thousands of people flocking to see the spectacular sight.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic center in the North Atlantic, has an average eruption every four to five years.

The most significant but also dangerous in recent times was the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to a widespread closure of the airspace over Europe.

More than 100,000 flights were grounded, stranding millions of travelers and halting air travel for days due to concerns about the impact of the ash on aircraft.