Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, lit up the sky overnight Sunday into the predawn hours Monday with bursts of hot lava, some going as high as 100 meters into the air. Etna is on the Mediterranean island of Sicily.
Scientists with Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, report there were two eruptive fissures on the southeastern crater of the mountain. Geologists report the mountain has been active on and off for the past two months.
The Reuters news agency reported that ash from the eruption covered parts of nearby small Catanian villages between Pedara and Tremestieri Etneo. On Monday morning, cars, streets and balconies were covered in black ash as workers and locals worked to clear it up.
The 3,330-meter-high Mount Etna is the second-most active volcano in the world, after Hawaii’s Kilauea. It can burst into spectacular action several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over Sicily.
