The lava flows began at around 7pm on Monday at Europe's highest and most active volcano, and were continuing on Tuesday morning. The eruption, taking place at the south-east crater, is visible from the cities of Catania and Taormina.
Etna's Southeast Crater erupting late on the evening of 27 February 2017 pic.twitter.com/if7jp3o61o
— Boris Behncke (@etnaboris) February 28, 2017
Footage below shows the volcano sending out vertical streams of bright red lava on Monday night. A live stream of the continued eruptions can be viewed here.
Volcanologists are classing the eruption as 'Strombolian' – a category characterized by explosive bursts of activity during which cinder, ash and smoke are ejected from the crater with great force.
According to Ingv, Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, the eruptions don't currently present a danger to people or property. The nearby Catania airport has not been affected and remains fully operational.
Etna, nestled between the cities of Messina and Catania, is in a near-constant state of activity, meaning its shape changes more frequently than any other volcano.
It experienced a flurry of activity in January, which saw some local schools briefly evacuated.
Together with Mount Vesuvius near Naples, it is one of 16 volcanoes in the world designated as 'Decade Volcanoes' by the UN, which means that they are studied particularly closely due to the frequency of activity and density of nearby population.
In 2013, the volcano was awarded Unesco World Heritage Status due to its “notoriety, scientific importance, and cultural and educational value”.
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