Mount Etna has erupted in Sicily sending plumes of dense ash and spewing lava fountains into the sky. The crater produced lava fountains of up to 100m high and a dense ash plume rose to an estimated 5km high.
Loud roars have been heard in Calabria as smoke was seen heading towards Catania. A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded on the slopes of Etna before the blast but it's not known if it was linked. In the past 24 hours, 17 quakes have been recorded. It's likely that the blast was a paroxysm as it lasted for a short period of time but was of high intensity.