The level of alert due to the volcanic activity was raised at the Catania airport, but no immediate interruptions were reported
Italy's INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the spectacle on Europe's most active volcano was caused when part of the southeast crater collapsed, resulting in hot lava flows. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months
The area of danger was confined to the summit of Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution, according to Stefano Branca, an INGV official in Catania
Sicily's president, Renato Schifani, said lava flows emitted in the eruption had not passed the natural containment area "and posed no danger to the population"
Tremors from the eruption were widely felt in the towns and villages on Mount Etna's flanks, Italian media reported
Video showed tourists running along a path on the flank of the vast volcano with smoke billowing some distance in the background
Excursions are popular on Etna, which is some 3,300 metres (nearly 11,000 feet) high, with a surface area of some 1,200 square kilometres (about 460 square miles)
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