Mount Etna erupts with a massive plume of ash, gas, sends tourists running for safety. Watch video

Mount Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, violently erupted on Monday. Photos and videos showed plumes of toxic ash billowing into the sky as people ran for safety down the mountain. Mount Etna is believed to have the longest documented history of eruptions. The eruption filled the Sicilian sky with smoke, with the famous landmark spewing ash and forcing visitors to scramble to safety.



A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed forth Monday from Italy's Mount Etna after a portion of its southeastern crater likely collapsed, authorities told news agency AFP. Images showed a massive grey cloud billow forth from the volcano on the island of Sicily, beginning about 11:24 am local time (0924 GMT), according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

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Mount Etna erupts

Mount Etna, the ever-active volcano on the Italian island of Sicily, roared back to life on Monday, unleashing hot ash and lava in a dramatic pyroclastic flow, according to the country's volcano monitoring agency. Authorities reported no immediate threat to local residents—who are well accustomed to Etna’s frequent eruptions—or to air travel in the region.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), which oversees volcanic activity, observed “almost continuous explosions of increasing intensity” throughout the day. By midday, INGV Vulcani announced via social media that “explosive activity from the Southeast Crater has evolved into a lava fountain.” Accompanying infrared imagery showed streams of molten lava cascading down the mountain’s slopes.

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Surveillance cameras showed "a pyroclastic flow probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the Southeast Crater", the agency said. A pyroclastic flow occurs when volcanic rock, ash and hot gasses surge from volcanos. They are extremely dangerous.

The explosive activity "had transitioned to a lava fountain", INGV said, with the plume of ash expected to dissipate towards the southwest. Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, is located at the junction of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is also the tallest active volcano in Europe, rising to an elevation of 11,000 feet.

A red alert issued for aviation authorities said the height of the volcanic cloud was estimated at 6.5 kilometres (more than four miles). The nearby Catania airport was still in operation.

Strombolian activity is referred to as a low-level volcanic eruption that releases a modest amount of volcanic energy.