CATANIA, Italy (WJW) – Tourists on an expedition near Mount Etna were filmed running for safety after a massive ash plume erupted from the volcano on Monday.
Dramatic video captured by Aurelien Pouzin shows a group scrambling away from the summit as thick, dark ash billows into the sky over Sicily's eastern coast.
Italian media outlet Corriere Della Sera reported that aviation authorities issued a red alert for air traffic following the eruption, warning of potential flight disruptions due to ash in the atmosphere. Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, of INGVvulcani, said Monday that a "fountain" of lava had also begun to flow from the volcano's southeast crater, though it hadn't breached a basin-like feature known as the Valley of the Leo.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center of Toulouse, which monitors eruptions in the area, said activity was already "decreasing" as of Monday afternoon local time.
No injuries were reported, but officials advised caution in the surrounding areas.
Mount Etna, located on the eastern coast of Sicily, is considered one of the world's most active volcanoes, frequently emitting lava and ash. Its current eruptive period began in November 2022, according to the Smithsonian Institution. The intensity of the current eruptive period has been rated at a 2 on the volcanic eruptivity index (VEI), which the National Park Service ranks at the lower end of "moderate."