Airdate: Iceland Volcano Disaster

Really just wanted to run this one with “EYJAFJALLAJOKULL”  as the headline, but I guess I should be consistent.

This Sunday night, National Geographic Channel,will air unseen footage of the eruption of Iceland’s volcano.

National Geographic Channel had a film crew on the ground in Iceland while other broadcasters were still assembling news teams. They documented dramatic events unfolding at the scene before, during and after the volcano’s two eruptions on 20th March and the second, larger eruption on 14th April. And who are we to argue with Nat Geo?

The crew was the only one to cover the story from the beginning – getting the first access via helicopter to the glacier atop the volcano. In doing so, they secured incredible, unparalleled footage of the volcano as it was erupting.

The crew’s work was fraught with danger – as they filmed next to the enormous crater spewing fire and ash, every 10 minutes a gigantic sonic boom hit rocking them to the core.

The massive eruption also caused major local flooding which washed away roads. The crew was trapped in one of these floods, which is also captured on film. At times, they were forced to drive into the enormous wall of dense ash cloud – with no light and losing all sense of direction, the crew began to have difficulty breathing and had to stop when the road disappeared.

This timely film also features other dramatic events including Coast Guard rescue flights, exclusive eyewitness accounts from the scene, renowned geologists collecting data from lava and ash, as well as explaining the science behind the volcano chaos and its global impact, including the disruption in air travel, the biggest since 9/11.

Iceland Volcano Disaster premieres exclusively on National Geographic Channel, Sunday May 2 at 6:30pm AEST.