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NewsMount Etna eruption LIVE updates as orange alert issued in ItalyThe volanco on Sicily has seen its largest eruption in years, with video showing terrified people running to

escapemenBookmarkShareCommentsByRyan PatonSEO WriterKit RobertsUpdated16:28, 2 JUN 2025BookmarkMount Etna erupting (Image: Getty Images)

Mount Etna has had its largest eruption in years, with dramatic footage showing people fleeing as a huge plume of smoke billowed into the sky.

A red alert was issued to aircraft following the start of the eruption, however this has since been downgraded to an orange alert.

Italian authorities issued a statement following the eruption, the Liverpool ECHO reports.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology issued a statement about the eruption, saying: "Over the past few hours, the activity flagged in the previous statement issued

at 4.14am (3.14am BST) has carried on with strombolian explosions of growing intensity that, at the moment, are of strong intensity and nearly continuous."

This is a live event, follow our blog below for the latest updates.

Sicily’s president, Renato Schifani, said lava flows had not passed the natural containment area, “and posed no danger to the population”. The event was captured in video and photos that

went viral on social media.

Mayor of Catania, Enrico Tarantino. has issued a statement in light of Mount Etna's eruption, he said: “I spoke to the INGV ( Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology),

everything is normal and under control.

“There is no criticality, it is a phenomenon that repeats itself and, in light of the monitoring of the volcano, was already expected So much so that access to the summit areas had been

prevented.

"It is our mountain, which we have now begun to know in all its manifestations.”

Footage from the eruption

Pictures show smoke rising from the landscape as Etna erupts

An explanation of the eruption has now been released.

Experts at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Etnean Observatory said that the pyroclastic flow was "probably induced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of

the South-East crater".

They added taht lava has now started flowing on the volcano following the initial "ash bomb".

The volcano on Sicily is the most active in Europe and erupts nearly every year, however this eruption appears to be particualrly large.

Accounts of Mount Etna erupting date back thousands of years, including Roman and even Ancient Greek accounts of the volcano.

planes

Aviation warnings are issued for volcanic eruptions due to the risk of volcanic ash.

This is because volcanic ash is hard and abrasive meaning that it can cause a lot of wear and damage to propellor blades and the fan blades in jet engines.

Volcanic eruptions have previously resulted in flights being grounded for days on end due to the risk posed by volcanic ash.

eruptionWebsite Volcano Discovery.com has posted that a tremor was felt before Etna started to erupt.The tremor started at around 10pm local time and reached a peak shortly before 1am. It

has since been localised at an altitude of 2.8kn beneath the crater area.ShareComments12:12Kit RobertsFull statement from Italian authorities

Italy's National Insitute of Geophysics and Volcanology issued a statement at around 11.03am local time.

The statement said: "Over the past few hours, the activity flagged in the previous statement issued at 4.14am (3.14am BST) has carried on with strombolian explosions of growing intensity

that, at the moment, are of strong intensity and nearly continuous.

"Over the past few hours, the falling of a little thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area."

Etna's eruption has triggered a warning on the Aviation Colur Code. This is a public warning to pilots when there is a risk due to volcanic activity.

When the warning was first put out it was at a red level, but has since been downgraded to an orange alert.

An orange alert means that a volcano is "exhibiting heightened unrest with increased likelihood of eruption. or, Volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission."

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