Tourists have been forced to evacuate after Mount Etna erupted causing smoke to billow into the sky.
Etna, regarded as the most active volcano in Europe, had been seeing some activity in the last few hours with volcanic tremors felt overnight.
However, this has now escalated to continuous “explosions of growing intensity.”
The mountain, located on the eastern coast of Sicily, saw pyroclastic flow, a deadly combination of burning ash and sulphur descend down the mountain.
Mount Etna has erruptedReuters
Smoke emerging from the top of Mount Etna
Reuters
Mount Etna in Sicily
Reuters
A red aviation warning was briefly issued by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Toulouse but has now turned to orange.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the eruption began around 3.50am local time, following volcanic tremors which began around midnight local time.
The institute said eruption activity has continued since then with “increasing intensity” and were currently “almost continuous.”
A spokesman said: “From a seismic point of view, the values of the tremor amplitude are currently high with a tendency to increase further.”
Volcanic steam rises at sunrise from Mount Etna, near Motta Camastra, Sicily, Italy
Reuters
