Mount Etna key details as huge volcano erupts in Sicily forcing tourists to leave

Mount Etna has erupted on the Italian island of Sicily, sending a huge plume of smoke and ash towering into the sky.

Etna is the largest and most active volcano in Europe. Images and footage shared online show tourists running away as the active volcano erupted, spewing out smoke.

It last violently erupted on 14 August 2024, closing nearby airports and sending a smoke plume 5.9 miles (9.5 kilometers) high.

According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Italy, the volcano is currently experiencing strong strombolian explosions that are “of increasing intensity”.

Here’s everything we know about Mount Etna.

Where is Mount Etna?

Mount Etna, a stratovolcano, is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, north of the city of Catania. It has a base circumference of 87 miles (140 kilometers) and is almost in a constant state of activity, in varying degrees.

How big is the volcanic eruption?

The latest eruption began in the early hours of Monday (2 June), with the INGV explaining it was experiencing “intense and almost continuous” strombolian explosions. Before this, tremors could be detected, according to the Volcanic Discovery website.

“The INGV-Osservatorio Etneo informs that over the last few hours, the eruptive activity already mentioned in the previous statement has continued with strombolian explosions of increasing intensity that, at the moment, are to be considered to be very intense and almost continuous,” a statement said.

A pyroclastic flow – a high-speed mixture of hot gas and volcanic matter – has been observed falling down one of the mountain faces following the collapse of material from a part of the crater.

The experts explained: “The INGV-Ethneo Observatory, notes that the surveillance system camera images show, at 11:24 local hours (09:24 UTC), a pyroclastic flow probably produced by the collapse of material from the northern side of the Southeast Crater.”

Social media reaction

Dramatic clips and images have been widely shared online, with some showing tourists fleeing the scene of the volcano as smoke poured out into the sky above them.

Someone who was on a tour of the area at the time wrote: “Mt Etna erupting during our tour- all safe but it was scary!”

Images have shown a huge cloud of grey smoke coming out of the volcano.

“Mt. Etna in Italy erupted Monday sending people scrambling for safety as dangerous pyroclastic flows swept down the mountain. Pray everyone escaped safely,” someone said.

Can people still travel to Sicily?

As The Independentreports, a red aviation alert was issued in response to the eruption of Mount Etna by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, one of nine such centres worldwide used to monitor aviation risks.

Sicily has four main international airports: Catania-Fontanarossa (CTA), Palermo-Falcone Borsellino (PMO), Trapani-Birgi (TPS), and Ragusa-Comiso (CIY).

All four airports appear to be carrying on with their flight schedule as normal as of midday Monday, with very little disruption. Catania has seen some minor delays in flights departing Monday morning, the longest being just over an hour.

For more travel advice, head here

Are Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius close to each other?

Both Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius are active volcanoes, but they're not that close to each other despite both being in Italy. Etna is in Sicily, but Vesuvius is found in the North of Italy near Naples. While they're sometimes confused for one another, Mount Vesuvius last erupted back 1944 and its last major eruption was back in 1631.

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