Mount Etna in Sicily Erupts Again in Fiery Light Shower [VIDEO]

First Posted: Nov 18, 2013 08:18 AM EST
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Mount Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, erupted again sending a vast plume of ash over Sicily and putting up a fiery light shower with its bright lava.

Standing 11,000 feet above the sea level, Mount Etna's latest eruption began on late Saturday and diminished by Sunday morning. It shot up a towering column of ash and fire that put a spectacular air show over the night sky eastern Sicily.

Government officials, however, didn't evacuate people residing on the slopes of the notorious mountain. Lava from the composite volcano did not cause any major injuries and fatalities to the villagers and none of the villages were placed under the danger zone.

Unlike the previous eruption that took place in last month on October 26, which caused a temporary closure of airport and airspace due to the thick smoke, this eruption didn't cause any hindrance in the airport's functioning (one near Catania) but the two sections of airspace above the volcano was closed to flight.

The eruption was recorded on camera from Acireale, Cantania. This is the 16th such event  recorded this year.

The eruption was preceded by tremors on Monday that puffed several smoke rings into the air that lasted for several minutes. Looking at the circular smoke rings volcanologist assume that the eruption triggered a change in the structure of the vent that produced such rings, reports Daily Mail.

"We could hear explosions and spot the occasional ash plume... Suddenly I saw a perfect steam ring racing over the sky. And soon after that a second one, and a third one," Tom Pfeiffer who snapped images of Mount Etna told National Geographic.

Mount Etna has been active for decades. Major fatality was caused in the 1669 eruption led to the death of 20,000 people and left several thousand stranded on streets.

            

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