Piton de la Fournaise
© AP/Ben Curtis
A volcano on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion is spewing red hot lava into the surrounding countryside and sending plumes of smoke into the air.

Dramatic footage filmed from a helicopter has captured the molten rock pouring out of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano and stretching across the striking landscape as smoke fills the air.

The squat volcano is one of the most active in the world, periodically erupting for long stretches of time. The current eruption began all the way back in October 2019 and is still going strong.


Several cracks have opened on the eastern flank of the volcano between the summit area and 2,000 meters above sea level, the island's volcanological observatory said on Monday.

Reunion is part of France, though it lies 175 kilometers (109 miles) off the coast of Madagascar.