Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts, shooting jets of lava into the sky

Lava continues to spew from one of the world’s most active volcanoes, days after the eruption of Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island began.

The eruption, which began on Monday, has stayed within the mountain’s summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Live images broadcast online by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) showed a burst of lava spewing from the Halema’uma’u crater, on the northwest rim of the caldera, early on Wednesday morning.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the eruption began just after 2:00am local time (12:00 GMT) on Monday.

“At 4:30am [14:30 GMT], lava fountains were observed with heights up to 80 meters [262 feet],” the agency said.

“Molten material, including lava bombs, is being ejected from the vents on the caldera floor up onto the west caldera rim.”

The eruption occurred in an area that has been closed to the public since 2007 due to hazards including crater wall instability and rockfalls. Visitors to the park were able to watch the foundations at a distance from an overlook spot.

This week’s eruption is the sixth in Kilauea’s summit caldera since 2020.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park encompasses the summits of two of the world’s most active volcanoes: Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Kilauea also erupted in June and September.