Tourists ignored warning signs before Mount Etna eruptions
The volcano is Europe's most active, and the continent's largest and attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance.
Salvo Cocina, head of Sicily's Civil Protection Department, said dozens of hikers ignored warnings issued early Monday morning, after initial signs of increased activity were detected on Europe's largest active volcano.
Footage showed those who had ventured on to Etna, hurrying down the volcano's slopes as a large plume of ash rose behind them from the volcano on the eastern side of the island of Sicily.
"There was a big explosion and a crater collapsed but luckily it fell into a deserted area," he said on Tuesday.
"It's very hard to block access, you can't fence it off.'
Cocina said those on the mountain on Monday, who had climbed to a height of some 2,700 metres, appeared to be properly equipped and he acknowledged the need to balance safety concerns with the desire of tourists to enjoy the views.
Nobody was injured in Monday's eruption and the alert for volcanic activity had been downgraded to the more standard "yellow" level on Tuesday.
Authorities said the pyroclastic flow — a fast-moving mixture of rock fragments, gas and ash — was limited to about two kilometers (more than a mile) and didn't go beyond the Valle del Leone, or Lion Valley, which forms a natural containment area.
Etna towers around 3,350 meters (around 11,050 feet) above sea level and is 35 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter, although the volcanic activity has changed the mountain's height over time.
Occasionally, the airport at Catania, eastern Sicily's largest city, has to close down for hours or days, when ash in the air makes flying in the area dangerous. An aviation warning was put in place during the latest event, but the airport wasn't closed.
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