Watch: Skier rides down Mt. Etna while volcano erupts
Photo: Salvatore Allegra/Getty Images
Skiers continued to glide down the slopes of Mount Etna on Saturday, despite a dramatic eruption sending clouds of ash and jets of molten lava into the sky.
Lava and rock fragments were propelled as high as 1,000 to 1,300 feet from the volcano’s mouth on the Italian island of Sicily, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Scientists from Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) described the activity as intensifying in “stop and go” episodes, making the volcano highly unpredictable.
“At 6:48 p.m., a series of strong explosions began at the north-east crater, spewing coarse pyroclastic material over the entire cone and well beyond its base,” the INGV said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, activity has intensified at the vent on the upper flank of the Voragine crater, currently producing a constant fountain of lava several tens of metres high.”
The INGV issued a red notice warning for what is considered Europe’s most active volcano, but flights continued to operate from Catania’s Fontanarossa airport nearby.
Earlier in the day, the authorities became concerned when a fountain of molten lava began streaming on the north-east crater of Etna.
On Saturday, satellite images showed the lava had travelled more than a mile eastward towards the Bove Valley, on the eastern side of the volcano. Regional Civil Protection officials also expressed alarm and warned of “imminent fountains of lava”.
But on Sunday the INGV said the latest volcanic activity had slowed, and reported that clouds of volcanic ash were confined to the summit area. It downgraded the safety risk alert from red to orange.
At 11,000ft, Mount Etna is the tallest volcano in mainland Europe and has been particularly active recently.
News.Az
