An ice floe the size of London has broken off from Antarctica, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said on its website.

“A huge iceberg (1,550 square kilometres), almost as big as London broke off from the 150m thick Brandt Ice Belt. The iceberg broke off after cracks that had occurred naturally over the past few years spread across the ice sheet, leading to the breakaway of the ice sheet,” the statement said.

The iceberg broke off last week, the second major chunk of ice to break away from an Antarctic glacier in two years.

There is a research station on the glacier from which the ice broke off, but the scientists there said that the area they are in is not threatened.