Mount Etna 'red alert' volcano erupts as tourists flee in panic
Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the blast was a series of "strombolian explosions of growing intensity".
It issued a statement, saying: "Over the past few hours, the activity flagged in the previous statement issued at 4.14am (3.14am BST) has carried on with strombolian explosions of growing intensity that, at the moment, are of strong intensity and nearly continuous. Over the past few hours, the falling of a little thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area."
According to Volcano Discovery.com, a volcanic tremor was felt before the eruption. The tremor began at around 10pm last night before reaching a peak at 1am. The tremor was localised at an altitude of 2.8km beneath the crater area.
Meanwhile, pilots were issued with a red alert after this morning's eruption. Although no volcanic ash cloud was detected in initial satellite imagery, a cloud primarily composed of water vapor and sulfur dioxide was observed drifting southwest.
Pilots were being warned to be aware of the potential danger of flying through volcanic ash. Volcanic ash is hard and abrasive, and can quickly cause significant wear to propellers and turbocompressor blades, and scratch cockpit windows, impairing visibility.
Previous eruptions around the world have seen planes grounded for days due to the potential risk. The red alert was downgraded to orange three hours after it was first issued. It currently remains at orange.
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