Iceland volcano: red warning issued following eruptions close to Bardarbunga volcano

Iceland’s Met Office has issued a red warning to the aviation industry after two earthquakes shook the Bardarbunga volcano overnight.

It comes after an eruption under a nearby glacier made authorities raise a warning.

In 2010 ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano shut down Europe’s airlines for six days, affecting more than 10 million people and costing millions.

The small subglacial eruption closed part of Iceland’s airspace although the airports remained opened.

There have been thousands of small earthquakes over the past week at Bardarbunga, which is Iceland's largest volcanic system and located under the ice cap of a glacier. It is in a different range to Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted in 2010.

The Met Office said in a statement a magnitude 5.3 earthquake at 5 kilometers (3 miles) depth had struck after midnight while another, with a magnitude of about 5, had occurred some five hours later.

"These are the strongest events measured since the onset of the seismic crisis at Bardarbunga and the strongest since 1996," the office said on its website.

There was no sign of any eruption at Bardarbunga, it said.