Drone captures stunning video of Iceland volcano eruption

Iceland's Mount Fagradalsfjall started erupting on Friday evening for the first time in about 800 years, and lots of people traveled the roughly 20 miles from Reykjavik, the capital, to enjoy the view. The site was shut down to visitors on Monday due to high levels of noxious gas, but drone operator Bjorn Steinbekk captured some stunning footage of a lava river on Sunday.

You can also watch his drone footage on YouTube, though Steinbekk added music that may not be to everyone's taste. The drone's fine, by the way, he told Britain's Channel 5 News on Monday.

"The eruption is considered to be small and due to its location, there is no threat to any populated areas or critical infrastructure," Iceland's government said in a statement. In fact, scientists used the heat from the molten rock to cook hot dogs.

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"It's absolutely breath-taking," Ulvar Kari Johannsson, a 21-year-old engineer, told AFP. "It smells pretty bad. For me what was surprising was the colors of the orange — much, much deeper than what one would expect." The eruption is expected to last a few weeks at most.