Tour groups were forced to flee Mt Etna when the volcano erupted. Video / AFP
Tourists were forced to flee Mt Etna as the volcano erupted, sending a giant plume of ash more than 6500m high.
Video footage showed tour groups rushing away from the eruption of the volcano in Sicily – one of the most active in Europe.
Other images showed tourists calmly photographingthe spectacle despite being just a few hundred metres away.
In the nearby city of Catania, beneath the flanks of the volcano, crowds of people enjoyed the sunshine and went about their business as clouds of ash billowed into the sky.
Monday is a public holiday in Italy, and the vast majority of people are not at work. Despite the huge quantities of ash emerging from the volcano, authorities said there was no current danger to the population.
The eruption was so powerful that it led to the collapse of part of a crater.
According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, surveillance cameras showed “a pyroclastic flow, probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the south-east crater”.
A pyroclastic flow occurs when volcanic rock, ash and hot gases surge from volcanoes.
The explosive activity “had transitioned to a lava fountain”, the institute said, with the plume of ash expected to dissipate towards the south-west.
Mount Etna exhibits a Strombolian eruption, with a volcanic plume rising from the southeast crater, on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. Photo / Getty Images
Renato Schifani, the head of Sicily’s regional Government, said experts had assured him there was “no danger for the population”.
The pyroclastic flow had not passed the Valley of the Lions, an area frequented by tourists.
Schifani said: “The partial collapse of the south-east crater, which generated an impressive eruptive cloud several kilometres high and a pyroclastic flow, is a phenomenon that we follow with extreme caution.”
Salvo Cocina, a senior official with Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, said tourists should avoid the area “in consideration of the potential evolution of the phenomenon”.
Officials said the height of the volcanic cloud was estimated at 6500m. Despite that, the nearby Catania airport was still in operation. At 3352m Mt Etna is the highest volcano in mainland Europe.
Eruptions have been ongoing for half a million years, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Magma climbs up Mt Etna through a central open conduit, which constantly releases gas, meaning smoke is almost always emanating from its top.
The last major eruption was in May 2023, forcing airport authorities to halt all flights at Catania airport.
At the time, the eruption of lava from the southeast crater produced a cloud of black volcanic ash that fell on the city, causing disruption not only to air traffic but also to vehicles on the ground.
In February this year, there were small eruptions, and tourists flocked to the volcano to take photos of lava flowing past snow. They were criticised by local authorities for irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.
Giuseppe Distefano, a photojournalist, told the Telegraph: “Someone roasted a sausage on a lava rock, and another guy I know brewed a coffee with an Italian coffee maker.
“We have seen so many absurd situations. There are some [tourists] walking to the lava flow with plastic bags on their feet so as to not wet their shoes with snow and ice.
“There have been several injuries, including someone who broke their ankle. Some have got hypothermia, some have got lost.”
People are supposed to stay at least 500m away from the lava flow.
