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Etna's latest eruption caused neither injuries nor evacuations, but sent a group of tourists on its flanks running, as captured by video posted on social media with smoke towering in the background.
Authorities emphasized there was no danger to the population, and the pyroclastic flow - a fast-moving mixture of rock fragments, gas and ash - was limited to about 2 kilometers (more than a mile) and didn't go beyond the Valle del Leone, or Lion Valley, which forms a natural containment area.
Etna has been active recently and this was the 14th episode since mid-March. The most recent pyroclastic flows with significant reach were recorded on Feb. 10, 2022, Oct. 23, 2021, Dec. 13, 2020, and Feb. 11, 2014, Marco Viccaro, president of Italy's national volcanology association, said Tuesday.
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At around 10 a.m. Monday, Etna exploded with its first major, violent eruption of the year: Lava fountains and a column of ash and gas rose several kilometers (miles) in the air. The event climaxed around 11:23 a.m. when the pyroclastic flow, triggered when magma mixed with snow, traveled 2 kilometers (more than a mile) to the Valle del Leone within a minute.
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