Iceland volcano erupts, officials eye flight risks
Iceland's most active volcano erupted on Saturday, hurling a plume of ash and smoke far into the sky, which aviation officials were closely monitoring after another volcano shut European airspace for days last year.
Authorities banned flights close to the Grimsvotn volcano but an official said the eruption was not expected to affect European airline traffic at least for the next 24 hours.
The plume from the Grimsvotn volcano shot 20 km (12 miles) into the sky. The website of newspaper Morgunbladid said the eruption was more powerful than its last in 2004.
"We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have," said Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, spokeswoman for the Isavia civil aviation authority which has imposed a flight ban of 120 nautical miles (222 km) around the area.
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull caused chaos when it erupted in April last year. Authorities halted flights due to fears that dust and ash would get into aircraft engines and cause accidents after the cloud was blown into European air traffic lanes.
Image: Smoke rises from the Grimsvotn volcano, Saturday, May 21, 2011 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Text: Reuters
Image: AP
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