Volcano in popular summer holiday spot sends smoke and ash miles into the air

Sicily’s Mount Etna has sent a cloud of smoke and ash several miles into the air, but officials said the activity posed no danger to the population.

The level of alert due to the volcanic activity was raised at Catania Airport, but no immediate interruptions were reported.

An official update declared the ash cloud emission had ended by Monday afternoon.

Italy’s INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the spectacle on Europe’s most active volcano was caused when part of the south-east crater collapsed, resulting in hot lava flows.

Officials said the activity appeared to be easing. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months.

The area of danger was confined to the summit of Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution, according to Stefano Branca, an INGV official in Catania.

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.

Tremors from the eruption were widely felt in the towns and villages on Mount Etna’s flanks, Italian media reported.