Flying over Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano that’s brought Europe’s air travel to a halt, is not for the fainthearted. And there may be worse to come.
Fresh eruptions thrust new torrents of molten rock through the shattered ice sheets in the mountain crater, spewing a towering wall of ash, dust and steam high into the air. Photo: SIGURSTEINN BALDURSSON
The power and wrath of Eyjafjallajökull came into dramatic clarity this weekend as the clouds parted for the first time since the glacier-topped volcano threw world air travel into turmoil.
Fresh eruptions thrust new torrents of molten rock through the shattered ice sheets in the mountain crater, spewing a towering wall of ash, dust and steam high into the air.
I was aboard a small six-seater helicopter carrying the first civilian passengers to approach the scene when coastguard observers operating aircraft high above warned the pilot to be wary of the latest barrage of explosions.