Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, erupted dramatically on Sunday, pushing thick plumes of ash high into the air and forcing tourists to flee the area in panic.
The Mount Etna volcano in the Italian island of Sicily had shown signs of activity earlier in the evening, but things quickly escalated. (AP)
Footage that went viral on social media showed visitors scrambling along the mountain paths as a massive ash cloud loomed behind them.
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The Mount Etna volcano in the Italian island of Sicily had shown signs of activity earlier in the evening, but things quickly escalated.
Just after 10 pm, the first tremors were recorded deep beneath the summit, and within hours, the volcano was producing near-continuous explosions.
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Experts described the blasts as “strombolian” in nature – short, explosive bursts that hurled ash and fragments into the air, The Standard reported.
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Experts described the blasts as “strombolian” in nature – short, explosive bursts that hurled ash and fragments into the air, The Standard reported.
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Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed that the activity intensified through the night, with fine ash falling in the Piano Vetore area, a popular spot for hikers and tourists.
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“Over the past few hours, the activity flagged in the previous statement issued at 4.14 am (3.14 am BST) has carried on with strombolian explosions of growing intensity that, at the moment, are of strong intensity and nearly continuous. Over the past few hours, the falling of a little thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area," Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said in a statement.
Ash cloud disrupts air travel
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, one of nine centres worldwide used to monitor aviation risks, warned that the volcanic ash plume had reached an altitude of around 6,400 metres.
The eruption at the most active volcano in Europe has escalated to continuous “explosions of growing intensity”, experts said.
Though the alert was later downgraded to orange, concerns remain about the drifting cloud, which is made up of ash, water vapour, and sulfur dioxide and is moving southwest.
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The warning came from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, one of several global centres that track volcanic threats to air traffic.
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Home/World News/Mt Etna's violent eruption triggers panic as ash plume rises high, tourists panic | Video
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