Thousands of tourists have stormed the snowy slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna in recent weeks, congesting roads and obstructing the paths of rescue crews, the Italian authorities said, despite their efforts to keep people safely away from explosive lava flows.
Mount Etna regularly erupts, and it has drawn tourists for decades. But the latest eruption, which began on Feb. 8, has drawn so many photographers, hikers and nature aficionados that it has raised a chorus of warnings and orders from local Italian officials.
Salvo Cocina, Sicily’s regional civil protection leader, in a statement Sunday described a “constant flow” of about 1,000 people, as well as “wild parking on the edges of tight streets” that created an impasse for emergency vehicles.
“With the dark, the risk of falling and sinking into the snow increases proportionally with the increase of people,” he said.
“Etna is giving us a breathtaking spectacle: A lava flow has reached our territory,” Mayor Fabio Mancuso of Adrano warned his town near the foot of Etna a day earlier. “A lot of people are trying to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it is extremely dangerous!”
He said the lava colliding with snow could cause violent explosions when the snow melts rapidly, resulting in high-pressure steam that can hurl rocks and lava a great distance. “A mortal danger for anybody near the flow!” he said in a social media post. “For this reason I have signed an order forbidding anyone from approaching the lava front.”
In Ragalna, another community on Etna’s slopes, the authorities ordered everyone to stay at least 500 meters, or nearly 550 yards, away from the lava flow.
But as the authorities issued orders, people still appeared to be uploading images and videos taken from the vicinity of the lava flows. Videos shared by the company AccuWeather showed people skiing down a snowy slope while lava smoldered and molten chunks of material tumbled down in the distance. In one clip, the silhouette of a sightseer’s body can be seen against red lava cascading not far in the background.
“Some people have independently managed to approach certain areas, but local municipalities have now imposed restrictions to prevent access to sites affected by the eruption for safety reasons,” said Giulia Campisi, a spokeswoman for a volcano tour agency, Go-Etna.
Ms. Campisi said in an email that the eruption was affecting Etna’s western flank, where fewer tourists know the trails. “To reach the lava flow in this particularly cold winter,” she said, “you must walk for a long time in deep snow.”
Go-Etna has not been taking tourists directly to the lava flows, she said, adding that it was abiding by local restrictions and safety measures. She also cited the danger that occurs when hot lava meets frigid snow.
“In some deeper spots, this can cause an immediate (and literally EXPLOSIVE) evaporation of the snow, resulting in the projection of hot stones, like bullets everywhere,” she said. “Events like these can take even experts by surprise.”
Dr. Stefano Branca, the director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology called the activity a “typical summit eruption.” He added, “Only people who come within a few meters from the lava flow can be in danger as the heat of the lavas can cause small hydromagmatic explosions caused by the rapid melting of the snow.”
Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting.
