Italy’s Mt. Etna erupts sending people running for safety as pyroclastic flows sweep down mountain
Photos and video show people on the volcano at the time running for safety as smoke and ash rise into the sky and begin to move down the side of the mountain. Explosive activity ended about 10 hours after it began, according to Italian authorities.
Watch: Italy's Mount Etna violently erupts
A video recorded in Italy shows the moment when Mount Etna on Sicily began to erupt on Monday, June 2, 2025.
SICILY, Italy – Italy’s Mount Etna volcano violently erupted on Monday, sending plumes of toxic ash and smoke billowing into the sky as people on the mountain ran for safety to escape the danger.
According to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), activity at Mount Etna on Sicily began during the pre-dawn hours on Monday and culminated with "intense and almost continuous" strombolian explosions hours later.
INGV said the explosive eruption stopped about 10 hours after it began.
![TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 1 of 9TOPSHOT - Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 2 of 9Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 3 of 9Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 4 of 9Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
![This image shows Italy's Mount Etna erupting on June 2, 2025.]()
Image 5 of 9This image shows Italy's Mount Etna erupting on June 2, 2025. (Dr. Dario Stelitano/INGVvulcani/Facebook)
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Image 6 of 9CATANIA, ITALY - JUNE 02: Mount Etna exhibits a Strombolian eruption, with a volcanic plume rising from the southeast crater, on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images) ( )
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Image 7 of 9CATANIA, ITALY - JUNE 02: Mount Etna exhibits a Strombolian eruption, with a volcanic plume rising from the southeast crater, on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images) ( )
![A cloud of ash and gas rise about ten kilometers above the summit craters, as Volcano Etna erupts again starting from the Southeast crater, which generated a pyroclastic flow in the direction of the Bove Valley in Nicolosi near Catania, Italy on June 02, 2025]()
Image 8 of 9A cloud of ash and gas rise about ten kilometers above the summit craters, as Volcano Etna erupts again starting from the Southeast crater, which generated a pyroclastic flow in the direction of the Bove Valley in Nicolosi near Catania, Italy on June 02, 2025. This phenomenon was amplified by the presence of ice; the sliding of glowing material over icy surfaces promoted the expansion and velocity of the flow eastward. Ash fallout affected the west southwest slopes of the volcano. The air alert has reached red status and is currently still on orange; some flights have been diverted to Comiso and Palermo airport. This is the 16th paroxysm from the southeast crater during this year, the first in June 2025. (Photo by Salvatore Allegra/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Salvatore Allegra/Anadolu via Getty Images)
![Mount Etna at sunset, seen from downtown Catania, appears calm after this morning’s violent eruption that destroyed the southeastern crater wall, sending plumes of volcanic steam and ash into the sky on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy.]()
Image 9 of 9Mount Etna at sunset, seen from downtown Catania, appears calm after this morning’s violent eruption that destroyed the southeastern crater wall, sending plumes of volcanic steam and ash into the sky on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images) (Fabrizio Villa)
The INGV said that strombolian activity is a relatively low-level volcanic eruption, during which a modest amount of energy is released.
Dramatic photos and video showed dangerous pyroclastic flows racing down the volcano as the eruption intensified, and INGV officials said it didn’t appear as though it crossed the edge of the Valley of the Leo.
Officials said the pyroclastic flow was probably produced by the collapse of material from the northern side of the Southeast Crater.
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Watch: People run for safety when Italy's Mount Etna volcano erupts
A dramatic video recorded Monday shows people running for their lives as Italy's Mount Etna volcano erupts.
Other photos and video show people on the volcano at the time running for safety as smoke and ash rise into the sky and begin to move down the side of the mountain.
The INGV said the explosive activity from the Southeast Crater transitioned into lava fountains, and ashfall was reported in some areas, such as Piano Vetore, Cesarò and Bronte.
Mount Etna at sunset, seen from downtown Catania, appears calm after this morning’s violent eruption that destroyed the southeastern crater wall, sending plumes of volcanic steam and ash into the sky on June 02, 2025 in Catania, Italy. An orange aviation warning has been issued. The images show aerial views of the volcano with the city of Catania in the background. (Photo by Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
After the lava fountain stopped, the flows began to cool. In the coming days, INGV ground survey teams will map the deposits.
Watch: Italy's Mount Etna erupts as people relax in Sicily pool
A video recorded in the city of Messina on the island of Sicily shows Italy's Mount Etna erupting as people relax in a pool on June 2, 2025.
Mount Etna, a highly active volcano worldwide, sits atop the convergent plate margin where the African Plate meets the Eurasian Plate. This towering peak stands as one of Europe's tallest active volcanoes and the highest point in Italy south of the Alps, currently exceeding 11,000 feet in height.
Mount Etna is also believed to have the longest documented history of eruptions among all volcanoes, with records dating back to as early as 425 B.C.
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