ROME (AP) – Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, has impressed volcanologists experienced in recent days with spectacular lava flows that illuminate the Sicilian sky every night.
The last eruption during the night died around 09:00 GMT on Tuesday, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Italy.
For more than a week, Mount Etna has been regularly burping with lava, ash and volcanic rocks. The nearby airport in Catania was temporarily closed and residents of the city of Pedara said it appeared one day last week as if it were raining rocks while a thick blanket of ash was covering the city.
Volcanologist Boris Behncke, of the Etna Observatory at the National Institute, has followed the latest paroxysms with fear. Writing on the institute’s website this week, he said that after “giving us moments of suspense” during the previous nights, Mount Etna definitely exploded in a way “those of us who have worked for decades on this rarely we have seen ”.
Referring to the day-to-day activity, he tweeted on Tuesday: “Did I call the February 20-21 paroxysm of #Etna“ incredibly powerful ”? Well, his successor, on the night of February 22-23, was MUCH more powerful.
So far, no injuries or injuries have been reported.