Stunning Iceland Volcano Drone Video Footage Shows Fagradalsfjall Erupting

A filmmaker has captured spectacular drone footage of a volcano—known as Fagradalsfjall—erupting in the southwest of Iceland.

In the footage, the drone sweeps over the volcano, which stands at an elevation of 1,263 feet, recording incredible images of lava flows and fountains.

The man who filmed the footage is Bjorn Steinbekk, a marketing strategist and content creator with a focus on drones, from Reykjavík—the capital of Iceland, which is located around 25 miles away from the volcano.

Steinbekk told Newsweek that he was standing around 10 to 15 meters (33 to 49 feet) from the edge of the lava field when he captured the footage.

Despite flying close to the volcano and the searing heat of the lava, Steinbekk said that the drone, manufactured by tech company DJI, appeared to suffer no damage.

"DJI has clearly come up with a lava-approved FPV [first-person view] drone," he said.

Steinbekk said he took other videos of the eruption, which began last week, and plans to continue filming it.

The filmmaker also provided some advice for those who wanted to capture incredible drone footage: "Never be afraid—you can always buy a new drone!"

The long-dormant volcano started erupting on Friday after more than 40,000 small earthquakes occurred in the area over the previous weeks, according to Iceland's meteorological office.

This is the first eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula—where the volcano is located—in nearly 800 years, The Associated Press reported.

The Icelandic Met Office said in a statement on Saturday that the eruption was considered "small" having decreased somewhat since Friday, with the eruptive fissure measuring approximately 200 meters long.

The area that the lava was covering was approximately 500 meters wide, according to the last available update, with lava fountains and flows presenting a "very local hazard." The seismic activity is minor and spread around the Fagradalsfjall area, according to the Met Office.

"This eruption is very harmless," Steinbekk said. The area where the volcano is located is remote and largely uninhabited, with the coastal town Grindavík being the closest populated region to the eruption site, located around six miles to the southwest.

Thousands of people flocked to the volcano in order to view the eruption over the weekend. Initially, authorities blocked off the site, but from Saturday afternoon people were allowed to get relatively close, the BBC reported. However, on Monday, the site was blocked off again due to high levels of gas pollution.

The Met Office warned that the vicinity of the eruption site is dangerous as sudden changes are to be expected.