Iceland Volcano Eruption: Students Evacuated At Eyjafjallajokull

British Students Evacuated From Eyjafjallajokull Volcano After The Eruption

As air traffic around Europe came to a standstill on Thursday, the eyes of the world are on on the volcanic eruption brewing underneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland. But, for a group of British students, the volcano eruption turned a mundane geography school field trip into an adventure. 

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Students from the Loughborough High School in Leicestershire county of the United Kingdom were on a field trip in the area when the disaster struck. The students along with their teacher were woken by the local officials at 4 am on Thursday and urged to move to a different location. BBC quotes one student saying that the group had to leave "in their pyjamas." The school teacher Jane Prescott explained that the group was told to leave all their belongings behind at first, because the volcano was erupting and the flood waters were moving in the direction of their lodgings. The students were allowed to return to their cabins the next day.

In the wake of the explosion, water levels in local rivers rose by ten feet and clouds of smoke and steam up to eight kilometers high were billowing from the volcano. Iceland's Meteorological Service said no lava has been seen, but melt-water flows both north and south of the mountain, increasing the threat of flooding. In all, it is estimated that up to eight hundred people were evacuated from the area of the volcanic eruption due to the risk of floods.

The evacuated students are said to be doing fine and will be returning to the U.K. on Friday, provided airspace restrictions will be lifted. The latest advisory from the U.K. National Air Traffic Service suggests that restrictions will remain in place in the U.K. controlled airspace until 1900 U.K. time on Friday, April 16.