Mount Etna has erupted again. Europe's most active volcano put on quite the show as it lit up the sky above much of eastern Sicily and send ash spewing into the air.
The eruption of Mt. Etna began late Saturday and continued into Sunday morning. There were no injuries reported and none of the nearby villages were in danger, so they didn't have to be evacuated, the Associated Press reports.
However the airport in nearby Catania had to close off two air space sectors above the volcano since there was a large amount of smoke. The airport continues to operate normally and all takeoffs and departures went off without a hitch.
When the glowing ash and lava calmed down on Sunday, the volcano produced smoke rings that shot up into the air.
Mount Etna is no stranger to eruptions. the volcano lies above where the African and Eurasian plates converge, so it is an active zone and the volcano is the most active in Europe. It has erupted 16 times alone this year according to the Daily Mail.
Not only is Mount Etna the most active, the 459 square mile volcano is also the tallest in Europe as it stands nearly 11,000 feet high, so people all around were able to get a good view of the nighttime eruption. Mount Etna is so large that it is two and a half the times the height of the next largest volcano, Mount Vesuvius, in the Gulf of Naples.
Before Saturday's eruption, the last minor eruption occurred on Oct. 26. That eruption forced the local airport to close however nearby villages didn't have to evacuate.
The last major eruption of Mount Etna occurred in May of 1992. During the huge eruption, a river of lava endangered the town of Zafferana. U.S. Marines had to come in with cargo helicopters to drop massive concrete clocks to contain the lava flow and prevent it from reaching the town.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
