Lava from the latest volcanic eruption in south-west Iceland engulfed the car park of the country's main tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon Spa, on Thursday, according to images published by Icelandic media.
A flow of black and orange lava could be seen covering the area, which was once used as a car park for 350 cars as well as a space for coaches.
A service building used to store visitors' luggage was also engulfed by the lava, but there appears to be no immediate threat to the hot water pools as the lava was held back by a protective wall.
A Blue Lagoon official, Helga Arnadottir, told the daily Morgunbladid that she did not know when the site would be able to reopen to visitors. "The authorities are currently assessing the situation," she said.
The fishing village of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon were evacuated on Wednesday evening after the Sundhnukagigar volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted for the seventh time in a year.
Most of the 4,000 residents of Grindavík were evacuated a year ago, shortly before the first volcanic eruption in the region. Since then, almost all the houses have been sold to the state and nearly all the residents have left.
The Reykjanes peninsula had not seen an eruption for eight centuries until March 2021. Other eruptions occurred in August 2022 and July 2023. At the time, volcanologists warned that volcanic activity in the region had entered a new era.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcanic systems, more than any other European country.
It is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a fault in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, causing earthquakes and eruptions.
