Europe’s largest volcano, Mount Etna in Sicily erupted at around 9:20pm on Sunday, December 13, sending spews of lava and dense ash clouds into the air and blanketing nearby villages in soot.
According to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre Toulouse, a crater at Etna’s south-east side erupted, sending ash clouds 5km high and spewing lava to a height of 100m. Prior to the eruption, up to 17 earthquakes were reported in the area around the volcano, with a 2.7 magnitude quake felt right before the explosion.
The monster mountain is 3329 metres high and is considered the second most active volcano in the world, after Kilauea in Hawaii. Eruptions on Etna are frequent, with the most serious incident recorded in March 2017 when ten people were injured.
