4 days ago
Tourists run down Mount Etna as volcano erupts
Credit: @GlobalReportX
Tourists have been forced to flee Mount Etna as the volcano erupts, sending up a giant plume of ash.
Video footage shows tour groups rushing away from the eruption of the volcano in Sicily, one of the most active in Europe.
Other images show tourists calmly photographing the spectacle despite being just a few hundred yards away.
In the nearby city of Catania, beneath the flanks of the volcano, crowds of people enjoyed the sunshine and went about their business as the clouds of ash billowed high into the sky.
Monday is a public holiday in Italy, and the vast majority of people are not at work.
At 11,000 feet, Mount Etna is the tallest volcano in Europe. Eruptions have been ongoing for half a million years, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania.
Magma climbs up Mount Etna through a central open conduit which constantly releases gas, meaning smoke is almost always emanating from its top.
The last major eruption was in May 2023, which forced airport authorities to halt all flights at the nearby airport of Catania – a popular tourist destination.
At the time, the eruption of lava from its south-east crater produced a cloud of black volcanic ash that fell on the city, causing disruption not only to air traffic but also vehicles on the ground.
In February this year, there were small eruptions, and tourists were warned to stay away from lava flows.
Giuseppe Distefano, a photojournalist told The Telegraph: 'Someone roasted a sausage on a lava rock, and another guy I know brewed a coffee with an Italian coffee maker.'
Restrictions require people to stay at least 500m (1,640ft) away from the lava flow.
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