Key points
- Over 20pc of flights arriving at nearby Catania Airport were delayed
- Explosions were confined to summit area: Authorities
- Etna had been active for “several weeks”
ISLAMABAD: Tourists on the Italian island of Sicily were forced to flee on Monday from the slopes of Mount Etna, one of Europe’s largest and most active volcanoes, following an eruption that sent clouds of gas, rock, and ash billowing into the sky.
The New York Times reported that there were no reports of injuries or deaths, though videos circulating on social media showed hikers scrambling to descend the mountain as plumes rose overhead.
The newspaper cited FlightAware as saying that over 20 per cent of the flights arriving at the nearby Catania Airport were delayed. Authorities said that there was no risk to the local population.
“Strong intensity”
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said that the explosions were confined to the summit area, which was closed to tourists, and were of “strong intensity.”
AFP reported that an initial red alert that INGV issued for aviation authorities — which estimated the height of the volcanic cloud at 6.5 kilometres (more than four miles) — was downgraded to orange, then yellow.
“No ash cloud produced”
Sicily’s nearby Catania Airport remained open Monday. By mid-afternoon, INGV said the eruption had stopped, with “no ash cloud produced”.
The president of the region of Sicily, Renato Schifani, said experts had assured him there was “no danger for the population”, with the flow not having passed the Valley of the Lion, an area frequented by tourists.
The intensity of the volcano seen on Monday “is one of the signs of the continuous dynamism of Etna”, the president of the Italian Association of Volcanology, Marco Viccaro, according to Corriere della Sera daily.
“The paroxysm that began last night and has continued to grow in intensity, falls within the dynamics of a volcano in persistent activity,” he said, noting that Etna had been active for “several weeks”.
