Mount Etna erupted on Wednesday night, sending stunning billows of smoke into the night sky.
Images show stretches of smoke, debris and lava spilling from the famous Sicilian volcano - one of the most active in the world. It comes just a week after Europe's tallest volcano caused mass travel disruption amid another eruption over the Mediterranean island of Sicily.
A resulting cloud of ash and smoke grounded flights at Catania airport with several flights diverted to Palermo and Comiso amid poor visibility. Nearby towns reported being covered in black volcanic ash.
READ MORE: Surprise explosion of rock, water and steam sends crowds running for cover in Yellowstone National Park
READ MORE: American tourist dies suddenly during visit to Sicily’s Mount Etna as eruption fears spark ‘red alert’
After four years of limited activity, eruptions have increased in recent weeks. Etna covers an area of 1,190km 2 (459 sq mi) with a circumference of 140 km (87 miles) at its base - making it the largest of active volcano in Italy.
Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils produced from this activity support extensive agriculture, with vineyard and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south.
In June 2013, Mount Etna was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Recently in the US, a surprise eruption that shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt dozens of feet into the sky Tuesday sent people running for safety in Yellowstone National Park.
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The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles (3.2 kilometers) north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser. Video posted online showed a couple dozen people watching from a boardwalk as the eruption sprayed and grew in front of them. As water and debris began to fall, they ran to keep clear, some yelling “Back up!” and “Holy cow!” People then turned to watch the spectacle under a huge cloud of steam.
The eruption damaged the boardwalk, an elevated wooden walkway that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas.
No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety, according to a U.S. Geological Survey statement. A hydrothermal explosion happens when water suddenly flashes to steam underground. Such blasts are relatively common in Yellowstone. Similar blasts have happened in Biscuit Basin in 2009, 1991 and after the magnitude 7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in 1959.
Dramatic as it was, the latest was on the small side, according to the statement. Scientists theorize that a series of hydrothermal explosions created Mary Bay on the northeastern side of Yellowstone Lake some 13,800 years ago. At 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) wide, Mary Bay is the world’s largest known hydrothermal explosion crater.
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