A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland, after weeks of seismic activity that destroyed homes and roads and led to the evacuation of a fishing village.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement that the eruption began after 10 pm local time on Monday, and is located about 3 kilometers north of Grindavik. A series of earthquakes began shaking the area about an hour before the volcano erupted.
A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption, when the IMO statement was issued.
Grindavik's 4,000 residents were forced to flee their homes last month, as authorities warned that underground magma was approaching the surface and could explode.
The volcano is also located near one of Iceland's top tourist attractions, the Blue Lagoon geothermal resort, which has been closed since November 9 due to severe seismic activity.
Grindavik is located about 35 miles southwest of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, where the eruption is said to have been visible.
A video clip spread on social media claiming to show a view of the volcano from a plane preparing to take off from Keflavik Airport, west of Reykjavik.
The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland released huge clouds of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, causing the largest disruption to European airline flights since World War II.
What is the fate of the minesweepers that Ukraine bought from Britain?
Ukraine bought two Sandown minesweepers from Britain. It later became clear that these sweepers were out of service in the British Navy.
These two ships are still docked in a British port. The Russian military magazine "Zvezda" said that London had announced the delivery to Ukraine of two Sandown minesweepers, noting that the Ukrainian side had purchased them, according to British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, at the expense of funds allocated by the British Foreign Lending Agency.
It is noteworthy that the Ukrainian and British sides signed on June 21 in Odessa, on board the British destroyer Defender, a memorandum of implementation of the maritime partnership project, which stipulated the delivery to Ukraine of two Sandown minesweepers with a displacement of 484 tons. They were called "Cherkasy" and "Chernigov" after the two Ukrainian cities. But they are less effective and combat capable, according to their tactical technical specifications, than the Russian minesweepers of Project 12700.
The media had previously reported that the two aforementioned minesweepers were built in 1999 and 2000, each 52 meters long, and their outer bodies were made of plastic. They were equipped with a towed hydroacoustic radar and a small mine-hunting submarine.
In any case, the Ukrainian sailors were somewhat relieved. However, Turkey closed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits and prevented the passage of foreign warships after the launch of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. An article published by the Russian magazine "Zvezda" does not rule out that these two ships will remain in British ports unless the special military operation ends.
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