Massive ash cloud erupts from Sicily’s Mount Etna in fiery volcanic show

The Mount Etna of Sicily organized an ardent spectacle on Monday, sending a cloud of smoke and ashes of several kilometers in the air.

Although the eruption sent tourists to rush, officials said that the activity was no danger to the population.

The alert level has been increased at Catania airport due to volcanic activity, but no immediate interruption has been reported. An official update said that the program of the ash clouds ended in the afternoon.

The video and the photos of the eruption show a sudden waterfall of swollen materials and ash which flow on the side of the top, seeming that the volcano separated in two.

Images common On social networks, shows tourists who run a path on the side of the vast volcano while the smoke revolved at a certain distance in the background. The excursions are popular on Etna, which measures approximately 3,300 meters high, with an area of ​​around 1,200 square kilometers.

The National Institute of Geophysics and the Volcanology of the Ingv of Italy said that the spectacle of the most active volcano in Europe was caused when a part of the southern crater collapsed, causing hot lava flows and ash accompaniment clouds.

The volcanic clouds reached a height of 6,500 meters at a given time, according to the observations recorded by the Institute. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months.

The danger zone was limited to the top of the Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution, according to Stefano Branca, an Ingv official in Catania. The southeast crater is around 2,800 meters above sea level.

Sicily President Renato Schifani said that the lava flows emitted in the eruption had not passed the natural containment area, “and had no danger for the population”.

Dramatic adjustments are common to Mont Etna, which is the most active volcano in Europe. The volcano attracted the eyes in mid-May when he pulled lava plumes and ash clouds in the sky, fueling two modest lava flows near his active south-east crater.

The tremors of the Monday eruption were largely felt in the towns and villages of the sides of Mont Etna, the Italian media reported.

Civil protection in Sicily recommended by hikers avoids the top of the volcano until further notice.