Mount Etna eruption live: Volcanic blast which sent tourists fleeing was most powerful in four years
Tours are returning to the slopes of Mount Etna after its largest eruption in four years sent tourists fleeing from a vast column of gas and ash on Monday.
After footage of the dramatic eruption circulated online – showing tourists sprinting down the volcano as black ash spewed several kilometres into the sky – Italian geological authorities were quick to quell fears that tourists and residents were under any danger.
Etna has erupted more than a dozen times already this year, including in February, when thousands of tourists flocked towards the volcano to witness the spectacle. Monday’s eruption began at around 3.50am local time (2.50am BST), following volcanic tremors which began around midnight local time.
“Such intense volcanic activity had not been recorded since February 2021,” said Stefano Branca director of the Etna Observatory in Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. The agency said the volcano was experiencing strong strombolian explosions – a type of eruption – “of growing intensity”.
The main concern in the days following the eruption is air traffic disruption, said Dr Stuart Black, geological expert at the University of Reading. “Commercial aircraft typically fly at similar altitudes as where the volcanic material is reaching, so persistent activity could force flight rerouting in the region,” he said.
