Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, is seen from the side of a road as it spews lava during an eruption in the early hours of Thursday, March 16, 2017. (Salvatore Allegra/Associated Press)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. Their film shows an explosion of steam followed by a second explosion of boiling rocks and people running away from the explosion. Eruptions occur frequently, although incidents that involve injured tourists are rare. 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.

Source: Washington Post March 16, 2017 14:10 UTC