A volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli erupted on Wednesday afternoon, spewing sand, ash and lava in the air and into the sea below. The eruption on the small island off the coast of Sicily created a plume that extended more than 2 kilometres high, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. It was the second explosion on Stromboli in less than two months.
According to ABC News, the cloud engulfed the island and was seen kilometers away by vacationers in boats in the waters surrounding the island. Videos posted to social media show boaters rushing to escape the volcanic ash.
In one such video, shared by tourist Claudio Marchiori on Twitter, a boat can be seen rushing away as smoke rises behind it.
"We saw a big explosion, a big eruption and we heard a very loud roar. A lot of smoke came out immediately and we saw the lava flowing, it was really impressive," said French tourist Jean-Francois Avril, according to Euro News.
A popular summer destination, the island had about 5,000 people on it at the time of the volcanic eruption. There were no reports of injuries or damage. However, the docking of private boats in the island was suspended for a few hours on Wednesday.
Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth and has been erupting almost continuously since 1932, according to Geology.com. The volcano last erupted in July, killing one hiker and injuring another person.
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