Drone footage shows renewed eruption activity on Mount Etna that produced lava, according to Italian media reports. (Cory Turner)

We just found some new drone video of Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe. It shows a full channel of crackling, rocky lava flowing down the mountain.

Mount Etna, which began to erupt about 500,000 years ago, started a new phase of eruption March 16. It just happened to be the day a BBC crew was on location to report on volcano monitoring.

“We had come to see a lava flow that had appeared overnight,” BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle recounted. “A giant stream of rock, glowing red, was oozing down the slopes. … Dozens of tourists had also been brought by Etna’s guides to see the spectacle.”

But what typically is an exciting, up-close experience — watching new earth being created before your eyes — turned into a dangerous situation in which people were burned and otherwise injured. The lava flow came in contact with some snow, which caused an explosion of steam that shot wicked-hot boulders and debris in all directions. There was so much hot steam in the air, Morelle called it a “whiteout.”

Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam – not an experience I ever ever want to repeat (8) — Rebecca Morelle (@BBCMorelle) March 16, 2017

Such water-induced explosions are somewhat common — the way it happened didn’t surprise me, at least. Water or snow was trapped in some crevasse or hole, cut off from the open air. The lava rapidly heated it to the boiling point, which created steam and pressure, causing an explosion.

It’s exactly like what happens when you put a bowl of soup in the microwave with the lid on too tight. Boom.

Fortunately, everyone on the mountain that day — tourists and BBC crew — left injured but alive. When she got back to her hotel, Morelle tweeted a photo of her colleague’s coat, which had a giant hole seared through it by a flaming-hot rock.

Back at hotel now after Etna explosion. Here's @NewsCamerawoman with the massive hole a lump of rock burnt through her coat. pic.twitter.com/GVSyj3Sa9A — Rebecca Morelle (@BBCMorelle) March 16, 2017

Morelle described the scene on the BBC website the next day.