Hikers scramble as new fissure opens up at Icelandic volcano

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A new fissure has opened up at an Icelandic volcano that began erupting last month, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of hikers who had come to see the spectacle. Officials say the new fissure is about 500 meters (550 yards) long and about one kilometer (around a half-mile) from the original eruption site in the Geldinga Valley. The Icelandic Department of Emergency Management announced an immediate evacuation of the area Monday. It said there was no immediate danger to life due to the site’s distance form popular hiking paths. The long-dormant volcano in southwest Iceland flared to life March 20, the area’s first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years.