FILE PHOTO A tourist stands in front of Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, as it spews lava during an eruption on the southern island of Sicily, Italy February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello/File photo

ROME (Reuters) - Ten people were injured in an eruption on Mount Etna on Thursday when magma flowing into snow caused a violent explosion that sent stones and rocks flying into the air, emergency services said.

Amongst those hurt near the summit of Etna on the island of Sicily were members of a television crew filming for the BBC.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam - not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” the BBC’s science correspondent Rebecca Morelle wrote on Twitter.

“BBC team all ok - some cuts/ bruises and burns. Very shaken though - it was extremely scary,” she said.

Italian officials said six people had to be taken to hospital, but none were in a serious condition.

Etna is Europe’s most active volcano. After a quiet couple of years it burst into action in February with repeated explosive eruptions that sent orange plumes of lava into the air.

Thursday’s explosion was the result of a so-called phreatomagmatic eruption, caused by magma hitting water — in this case snow.</s>At least 10 people have been injured after several tourists and a BBC crew were caught up in an eruption at Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily.

BBC science correspondent Rebecca Morelle tweeted to say the explosion was caused when lava flow mixed with steam.

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Ms Morelle said the group, which included one 78-year-old woman, was “pelted with boiling rocks and steam”.

She said some had head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises, but added that everyone “had a very lucky escape”.

Some of the group were evacuated by a mountain rescue team, she added.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, was travelling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction.

“The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Mr Marino told Catania Today.

Six people are recovering in the nearby Catania and Acireale hospitals, Il Corriere reported.

One volcanologist told Ms Morelle the explosion was the most most dangerous he had seen in his 30-year career.

“Explosions like this have killed,” she added.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam – not an experience I ever ever want to repeat.”

Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting for the first time this year towards the end of last month.

It is the highest volcano in Europe at 3,330 metres and has burst into life several times each year.</s>Ten people were injured in a volcanic eruption of Mount Etna of Sicily in Italy on Thursday (March 16), when the flowing magma came in contact with the snow, triggering an explosion that sent rocks and stones flying into the air.

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Among the 20 injured were crew members of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Six of them were taken to hospitals in Catania and nearby Acireale as they suffered minor injuries.

According to media reports, Nino Borzi, the mayor of Nicolosi, the closest residential area on the island of Sicily, said that there were around 35 people in the area close to the explosion near the summits of Europe's biggest active volcano. The explosion came from a crater on the south-eastern side of the 3,000-metre peak.

BBC's global science correspondent, Rebecca Morelle, who was part of the team on the volcano at the time of the eruption, tweeted that getting pelted with stones from an erupting volcano was an experience that she would not like to have again.

While Morelle said the blast caused head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises, another volcanologist told her it was the most dangerous incident he had experienced in his 30-year career.

This was the third incident at Mt. Etna, which overlooks the city of Catania, in a span of three weeks. It spewed lava almost 200 metres into the sky.

"It's difficult to say whether this has been the most dangerous eruption in 30 years," Stefano Branca, a volcanologist at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, told Guardian. "But if it had happened in August, when there isn't any snow, it wouldn't have been as significant. This type of eruption is an exception."

Mount Etna, which was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2013, had faced a major eruption in 1992 when the town of Zafferana Etnea was in the path of the lava flow. Though some homes were buried by the lava, there was no loss of life.</s>Up to 10 people have been injured in an eruption on Mount Etna in Sicily, one of Europe’s most dangerous volcanoes.

A BBC film crew was caught up in the eruption, with global science correspondent Rebecca Morelle describing their terror in a series of tweets.</s>Mount Etna, in Sicily, Italy, has erupted again, but this recent event was considered a more violent explosion than is typical for Mount Etna. In recent days, Etna has released ash but nothing particularly dangerous until Thursday’s event at the Belvedere area of Mount Etna that spewed steam and molten rocks onto tourists and a BBC journalist. This latest Mount Etna event is considered a “phreatic eruption.”

You can see and hear on the BBC video below a deafening explosion on Mount Etna followed by panicked screams. The camerawoman was knocked over and the footage shows a camera angle as she struggles to get upright with the journalist at her side during the episode on Mount Etna. People can be seen fleeing down away from the eruption site on Mount Etna as many of the injured panicked.

The steam plumes were enormous and was the third time within the last three weeks that significant volcanic activity has occurred at Mount Etna. The molten lava spewed more than 650 feet in the air but was not what put the tourists, one scientist, and a BBC team at risk. It was the steam and flying debris that posed the danger on Mount Etna. When lava moves, it’s usually so slow people have time to evacuate.

Mount Etna Injuries, But None Serious

Ten were injured on Thursday, March 16 on Mount Etna and most were interested onlookers that came for the spectacle of an active volcano eruption, so they were aware of the risk. Roughly 35 tourists were on Mount Etna at the time of the explosion midday in Sicily, Italy along with the BBC team that captured the explosion on camera. The Mount Etna guides that accompanied them got all to safety with just 10 injured.

Umberto Marino, President of the local Alpine Club, was traveling up Mount Etna towards the active lava flow in a snowcat to check out the activity when the crowd began running towards him. Marino told Catania Today, “The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest.” He added, “We saw people coming back wounded.”

The lava flow originated much higher on Mount Etna than where the tourists and film crew were, but it’s the nature of a phreatic eruption that made it dangerous for the onlookers who were still significantly away from the eruption site. On Wednesday, the day before the reported event, new lava began flowing from Southeastern crater of Mount Etna.

The phreatic event occurred when the molten lava, at a temperature of more than 1,830 degrees Fahrenheit hit the snow still on Mount Etna. The interaction of lava and snow caused the explosion that had boiling steam, boulders, and smaller rocks heated to high temperatures raining down on the fleeing spectators and a BBC journalist and camerawoman.

Mount Etna draws thousands of tourists each year as one of the most active volcanoes in the world but it’s rare than any of the tourists on Mount Etna are injured. Another phreatic eruption 14 years ago injured 32 people on Mount Etna including first responders. Prior to that, in 1979, nine tourists were killed as they stood on the rim of Mount Etna during an eruption.

Since those tourist deaths, authorities that govern visitation to Mount Etna have limited accessibility to more volatile areas of the active volcano. BBC global science reporter Rebecca Morelle was on hand for the event and said the Mount Etna explosion is “a reminder of how dangerous and unpredictable volcanoes can be” adding “everyone had a very lucky escape.”

Of the tourists, guides, and other personnel on Mount Etna at the time of the explosion, the oldest was a 78-year old woman. Injuries suffered included burns, cuts, bruises, and head injuries. One woman had a fractured elbow from a fall due to the Mount Etna eruption. Six victims were taken to local hospitals within miles of Mount Etna. Among those hospitalized were several German tourists and a local from Zafferana, Sicily, very close to Mount Etna.

Two victims had to be helicoptered off Mount Etna for medical attention. There are currently two lava flows coming off Mount Etna. One is aimed at the Valle del Bove and the other at Monte Wheat Supino. This excitement has sent #MountEtna trending on Twitter with social media commenters enthused to see a Mount Etna eruption up close to those pledging never to go near such an event.</s>(London Independent) At least 10 people have been injured after several tourists and a BBC crew were caught up in an eruption at Mount Etna.

A member of the BBC crew said they were caught up in a “huge explosion” along with several tourists on the Italian island of Sicily.

BBC science correspondent Rebecca Morelle tweeted to say the lava flow mixed with steam causing the explosion.</s>Roberto Lo Savio/iStock/Thinkstock(ROME, Italy) — Tourists and reporters were caught in an eruption on Italy’s Mount Etna on Thursday.

BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle tweeted about the incident, saying that her group had been “pelted by rocks” and had to dodge “burning boulders and boiling steam.” She said about eight people were hurt and some had to be evacuated by rescue teams.

BBC News reports that lava flow mixed with steam to cause the explosion.

Mount Etna is among the more active volcanoes in the world.</s>MILAN—Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano unleashed an explosion Thursday, hurling molten rocks and steam that rained down on tourists, journalists and a scientist who scrambled to escape the barrage. Ten people were reported injured. The tourists, who were drawn to Etna to observe the spectacle of the active volcano erupting, were caught by surprise when its flowing magma hit thick snow, causing a phreatic explosion that rained rock and other material down upon them. A BBC journalist and camerawoman on assignment at the volcano were among the injured. Their film shows an explosion of steam followed by a second explosion of boiling rocks and people running away from the explosion. The clip continues in a snowcat, where a man holds a paper towel to stanch the bleeding from his head and hugs his wife. Authorities say about 35 tourists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred around midday, and that the guides who accompanied them helped bring them to safety.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, said he was travelling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction. “The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Marino was quoted by the Catania Today website as saying. According to Italian news agency ANSA, four people including three German tourists were hospitalized, mostly with head injuries. None of the injuries was listed as grave.

Italy’s volcanology institute said the explosion took place at about 2,700 metres (8,858 feet) above sea level, putting the tourists at more than 500 metres (1,640 feet) below the base of the newest southeast Mount Etna crater where the lava flow originated.

Among those present when the explosion occurred was a scientist from Italy’s volcanology institute, Boris Behncke, who said on his Facebook page that he had suffered a bruise to his head. “I am generally fine and having a good, well-deserved beer in this moment,” he added. The BBC’s global science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, was on assignment on Etna and described the experience in a series of tweets.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam — not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” Morelle wrote. The BBC crew was shaken but physically OK despite having suffered cuts, bruises and burns, she wrote. Morelle later showed the camerawoman’s jacket on the air with a big hole in the back where the material had melted in the explosion. Morelle said the explosion was “a reminder of how dangerous (and) unpredictable volcanoes can be.” Mount Etna has been active for the past two days, creating a visual spectacle as it spews lava and ash into the air. A new lava flow started from the southeastern crater on Wednesday, and was advancing with a temperature above 1,000 C in an area covered by snow, creating the explosion. Officials at nearby Catania airport announced Thursday they would reduce arrivals by half to five flights an hour due to Mount Etna’s ash clouds. Departures were continuing as scheduled. Thousands of tourists each year visit Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes located on the eastern coast of Sicily. Eruptions occur frequently, although incidents that involve injured tourists are rare. A similar phreatic explosion, caused when lava hits water, on Etna in 2002 injured 32 people, mostly firefighters and other emergency workers responding to a series of eruptions. Authorities limited access to riskier areas on Mount Etna following a deadly eruption in 1979 that killed nine tourists who were standing at the volcano’s rim. Reports indicate that the tourists who experienced the eruption Thursday were in a zone where access is permitted with a guide. The volcanology institute said it was continuing to monitor the situation.</s>Scientists investigating recent eruptions on Sicily’s Mount Etna were injured when magma spewing from the volcano hit snow, causing an explosion, according to Italian news reports.

The Catania operation centre of Italy’s volcanology institute confirmed that members of a team taking measurements on the active volcano had been injured, but had no details on the numbers involved or the seriousness of the injuries.

The Catania Today website reported that at least three volcanologists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred just before noon, and that some were injured.

A BBC journalist and camerawoman on assignment at the volcano were among the injured.

Their film shows an explosion of steam followed by a second explosion of boiling rocks and people running away from the explosion.

The clip continues in a snowcat, where a man holds a paper towel to stanch the bleeding from his head and hugs his wife.

Authorities say about 35 tourists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred around midday, and that the guides who accompanied them helped bring them to safety.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, said he was traveling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction.

“The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Marino was quoted by the Catania Today website as saying.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, four people including three German tourists were hospitalised, mostly with head injuries. None of the injuries were listed as grave.

Italy’s volcanology institute said the explosion took place at about 8,858ft above sea level, putting the tourists at more than 1,640ft below the base of the newest southeast Mount Etna crater where the lava flow originated.

Among those present when the explosion occurred was a scientist from Italy’s volcanology institute, Boris Behncke, who said on his Facebook page that he had suffered a bruise to his head.

“I am generally fine and having a good, well-deserved beer in this moment,” he added.

The BBC’s global science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, was on assignment on Etna and described the experience in a series of tweets.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam - not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” Morelle wrote.

The BBC crew was shaken but physically OK despite having suffered cuts, bruises and burns, she wrote.

Morelle later showed her colleague’s jacket on air with a big hole in the back where the material had melted in the explosion.

Morelle said the explosion was “a reminder of how dangerous (and) unpredictable volcanoes can be.”

Mount Etna has been active for the past two days, creating a visual spectacle as it spews lava and ash into the air. A new lava flow started from the southeastern crater on Wednesday, and was advancing with a temperature above 1,000 degrees Centigrade in an area covered by snow, creating the explosion.

Officials at nearby Catania airport announced Thursday they would reduce arrivals by half to five flights an hour due to Mount Etna’s ash clouds. Departures were continuing as scheduled.

Thousands of tourists each year visit Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes located on the eastern coast of Sicily. Eruptions occur frequently, although incidents that involve injured tourists are rare.</s>After 11:30 a.m., the volcanic crater standing 2,700 meters high has roared for the second time, throwing tons of lava and sediment high in the air.

Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe, has erupted for the third time in less than three weeks and has spewed molten lava up to 200 meters high.

Ten people — two of whom were volcanologists working in the town of Cisternazza, on the southern slope of the volcano — were slightly injured by the explosion. Only six of the injured were transferred to hospitals in Catania and Acireale. However, the situation is under control and there have been no serious injuries so far reported.

Despite the spectacular nature of the phenomenon, the eruption of Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, has no special features in its activity pattern. In fact, the last processes, which occurred in December of 2016 and May of 2015, were much more violent than this morning’s eruption. The explosion has occurred when the snow deposited on the surface of the crater has formed a kind of cover that has finished leaving farewell.

Stefano Branca, a member of the Institute of Geology and Volcanology of Italy (INGV), was in the area at the time of the eruption. In a telephone conversation, he explained the cause of the spectacular explosion.

“It’s nothing special, the last one was on February 27th and this is the second time it’s happening,” he stated.

He added that this time, the volcanic eruption has chosen an area covered in snow. The snow, therefore, evaporated hastily and created a massive amount of steam, which actually caused the explosion.

“It is like when you make pasta and close the lid with the pot,” explains Branca.

The phenomenon is known as groundwater explosion, and it occurs when a high-temperature lava mass comes into contact with a colder object such as water or snow. In this case, the explosion has blown the blocks of lava and stony ground that covered the crater since the last eruption.

“It lasts a second, but if you’re close, it can hurt you,” White continued.

A BBC team and tourists were affected by the major explosion. As a result, some were wounded and the place was immediately evacuated. The BBC team reports that it felt like we were being hit by “burning stones and steam.”

Morelle explained that the injured people had “burns, cuts, and bruises,” remarking that the volcanologist stated that this explosion “has been the most dangerous incident in his 30-year career.” The BBC team is well aware, but the experience has been “extremely chilling.”

The reporter has highlighted the rapid intervention of the rescue team. What happened is “a reminder of how dangerous and unpredictable volcanoes can be.”

“We were all very lucky to escape,” she admitted.

The lava from the eruption comes from a crater in the southeastern part of the Sicilian mountain, 3,000 meters above sea level. Etna is located in the eastern part of the island of Sicily, between the provinces of Messina and Catania, and its last eruption was recorded on February 28. The eruption, recorded by the INGV, does not threaten residential areas, nor is it expected to interfere with air traffic.

The organization released images of lava and ash explosions in a crater on the southeast slope of the volcano, an explosion that reached 200 meters high.

Etna, which is 3,322 meters high and is the most active in Europe, is located in the eastern part of the island of Sicily, between the provinces of Messina and Catania, and its last eruption was recorded on 28 February.
An eruption at Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily injures at least ten people, including several in a BBC News crew.