ROME (AP) – The Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, has in recent days amazed even experienced volcanologists with a spectacular lava that illuminates the Sicilian sky every night.
According to the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the last eruption came on Tuesday around 09:00 GMT.
For more than a week, Etna regularly loaded lava, ash and volcanic rocks. The nearby Catania airport was temporarily closed and residents of the city of Pedara said it appeared one day last week as if it was raining stones while a thick blanket covered the city.
Volcanologist Boris Behncke of the National Institute’s Etna Observatory followed the latest paroxysms with awe. He wrote on the institute’s website this week, saying that Etna “had given us moments of tension” the previous nights, finally erupting in a way “those of us who have been working on this for decades have rarely seen it.”
Referring to the overnight activity, he tweeted on Tuesday: “Did I call the February 20-21 paroxysm ‘incredibly powerful’? Well, the sequel to it, on the night of February 22-23, was MUCH more powerful. ”
So far there have been no reports of injuries or damage.