The fearsome Mount Etna located on the Italian island Sicily burst is spewing ash and hot gas of up to five kilometers into the air on Sunday, April 19 at 7:30 AM local time. The blast was described by the Volcano Discovery as a "brief, but intense episode of explosive activity.

Faded quickly around noon

The summit activity intensified quickly, producing a weak lava fountain and an ash column. Incandescent lava covered most of the New Southeast Crater. Just after 45 minutes, the eruption quickly faded and settled down, simmering to a flow of lava down the volcano's steep side.

At first, the emission of ash and hot gases began mildly but eventually intensified at around 9 AM. According to reports, the column ash produced during the explosion ascended five kilometers or 3.1 miles into the air.

Bove Valley and the nearby commune of Zafferana where residents are still on lockdown because of COVID-19 were affected the most by the column of ash as it was blown towards the south-east of the volcano.

In a video of the eruption, it shows the huge blast happening at the tall volcano, with lava flowing and blasted into the sir. Although there have been no reports of damages or injuries to people, smoke and ashes continue to puff out from the volcano.

Scientists and officials continue to monitor the situation of the volcano several days later, as reported by Express.

"The network's follow-up has recorded Strombolian activity [explosive eruptions separated by calm periods of varying length], which have subsequently taken on the characteristics of a small source of lava," said the National Institute of Geophysics and volcanology of Catalina (INGV) who monitors the volcano.

Mount Etna's eruption history

Mount Etna is known to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world with an almost constant rate of activity and has been relentless and aggressive for a millennia. According to the Smithsonian, the first confirmed eruption of Mount Etna happened around the 6,000 B.C.

Around three million people are living under its shadow, within a 62-mile radius. Towering above the city of Catania on the island of Sicily, the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps.

Mount Etna has already experienced more than 200 eruptions since 1500, although most of it is just mild. Its most powerful recorded eruption was in 1669. The volcano's explosions have destroyed a part of the summit and lava flows from a fissure on the flank of the volcano which reached the sea and the town of Catania.

Its eruptions in the years 1986 and 1999 were the final major eruptions of the 20^th century. In July 2001, marks the first major eruption of the volcano in the 21^st century which lasted for several weeks. Other significant eruptions of Mount Etna included the Strombolian eruptions-eruptions that involve moderate bursts of expanding gases that expel clots of incandescent lava in cyclical eruptions- in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2017, and 2018 which caused an earthquake to the nearby city of Catania, resulting damage to properties and injuring people.