(London Independent) At least 10 people have been injured after several tourists and a BBC crew were caught up in an eruption at Mount Etna.

A member of the BBC crew said they were caught up in a “huge explosion” along with several tourists on the Italian island of Sicily.

BBC science correspondent Rebecca Morelle tweeted to say the lava flow mixed with steam causing the explosion. </s> Up to 10 people have been injured in an eruption on Mount Etna in Sicily, one of Europe’s most dangerous volcanoes.

A BBC film crew was caught up in the eruption, with global science correspondent Rebecca Morelle describing their terror in a series of tweets. </s> At least 10 people have been injured after several tourists and a BBC crew were caught up in an eruption at Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily.

BBC science correspondent Rebecca Morelle tweeted to say the explosion was caused when lava flow mixed with steam.

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Ms Morelle said the group, which included one 78-year-old woman, was “pelted with boiling rocks and steam”.

She said some had head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises, but added that everyone “had a very lucky escape”.

Some of the group were evacuated by a mountain rescue team, she added.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, was travelling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction.

“The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Mr Marino told Catania Today.

Six people are recovering in the nearby Catania and Acireale hospitals, Il Corriere reported.

One volcanologist told Ms Morelle the explosion was the most most dangerous he had seen in his 30-year career.

“Explosions like this have killed,” she added.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam – not an experience I ever ever want to repeat.”

Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting for the first time this year towards the end of last month.

It is the highest volcano in Europe at 3,330 metres and has burst into life several times each year. </s> Ten people were injured in a volcanic eruption of Mount Etna of Sicily in Italy on Thursday (March 16), when the flowing magma came in contact with the snow, triggering an explosion that sent rocks and stones flying into the air.

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Among the 20 injured were crew members of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Six of them were taken to hospitals in Catania and nearby Acireale as they suffered minor injuries.

According to media reports, Nino Borzi, the mayor of Nicolosi, the closest residential area on the island of Sicily, said that there were around 35 people in the area close to the explosion near the summits of Europe's biggest active volcano. The explosion came from a crater on the south-eastern side of the 3,000-metre peak.

BBC's global science correspondent, Rebecca Morelle, who was part of the team on the volcano at the time of the eruption, tweeted that getting pelted with stones from an erupting volcano was an experience that she would not like to have again.

While Morelle said the blast caused head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises, another volcanologist told her it was the most dangerous incident he had experienced in his 30-year career.

This was the third incident at Mt. Etna, which overlooks the city of Catania, in a span of three weeks. It spewed lava almost 200 metres into the sky.

"It's difficult to say whether this has been the most dangerous eruption in 30 years," Stefano Branca, a volcanologist at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, told Guardian. "But if it had happened in August, when there isn't any snow, it wouldn't have been as significant. This type of eruption is an exception."

Mount Etna, which was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2013, had faced a major eruption in 1992 when the town of Zafferana Etnea was in the path of the lava flow. Though some homes were buried by the lava, there was no loss of life. </s> Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's highest and most active volcano, erupted on Monday, sending a huge column of ash into the sky and causing the closure of Catania airport on Sicily's eastern coast.There were no reports of any injuries.The 3,330 meter high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. The last major eruption was in 1992. </s> MILAN—Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano unleashed an explosion Thursday, hurling molten rocks and steam that rained down on tourists, journalists and a scientist who scrambled to escape the barrage. Ten people were reported injured. The tourists, who were drawn to Etna to observe the spectacle of the active volcano erupting, were caught by surprise when its flowing magma hit thick snow, causing a phreatic explosion that rained rock and other material down upon them. A BBC journalist and camerawoman on assignment at the volcano were among the injured. Their film shows an explosion of steam followed by a second explosion of boiling rocks and people running away from the explosion. The clip continues in a snowcat, where a man holds a paper towel to stanch the bleeding from his head and hugs his wife. Authorities say about 35 tourists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred around midday, and that the guides who accompanied them helped bring them to safety.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, said he was travelling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction. “The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Marino was quoted by the Catania Today website as saying. According to Italian news agency ANSA, four people including three German tourists were hospitalized, mostly with head injuries. None of the injuries was listed as grave.

Italy’s volcanology institute said the explosion took place at about 2,700 metres (8,858 feet) above sea level, putting the tourists at more than 500 metres (1,640 feet) below the base of the newest southeast Mount Etna crater where the lava flow originated.

Among those present when the explosion occurred was a scientist from Italy’s volcanology institute, Boris Behncke, who said on his Facebook page that he had suffered a bruise to his head. “I am generally fine and having a good, well-deserved beer in this moment,” he added. The BBC’s global science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, was on assignment on Etna and described the experience in a series of tweets.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam — not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” Morelle wrote. The BBC crew was shaken but physically OK despite having suffered cuts, bruises and burns, she wrote. Morelle later showed the camerawoman’s jacket on the air with a big hole in the back where the material had melted in the explosion. Morelle said the explosion was “a reminder of how dangerous (and) unpredictable volcanoes can be.” Mount Etna has been active for the past two days, creating a visual spectacle as it spews lava and ash into the air. A new lava flow started from the southeastern crater on Wednesday, and was advancing with a temperature above 1,000 C in an area covered by snow, creating the explosion. Officials at nearby Catania airport announced Thursday they would reduce arrivals by half to five flights an hour due to Mount Etna’s ash clouds. Departures were continuing as scheduled. Thousands of tourists each year visit Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes located on the eastern coast of Sicily. Eruptions occur frequently, although incidents that involve injured tourists are rare. A similar phreatic explosion, caused when lava hits water, on Etna in 2002 injured 32 people, mostly firefighters and other emergency workers responding to a series of eruptions. Authorities limited access to riskier areas on Mount Etna following a deadly eruption in 1979 that killed nine tourists who were standing at the volcano’s rim. Reports indicate that the tourists who experienced the eruption Thursday were in a zone where access is permitted with a guide. The volcanology institute said it was continuing to monitor the situation. </s> FILE PHOTO A tourist stands in front of Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, as it spews lava during an eruption on the southern island of Sicily, Italy February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello/File photo

ROME (Reuters) - Ten people were injured in an eruption on Mount Etna on Thursday when magma flowing into snow caused a violent explosion that sent stones and rocks flying into the air, emergency services said.

Amongst those hurt near the summit of Etna on the island of Sicily were members of a television crew filming for the BBC.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam - not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” the BBC’s science correspondent Rebecca Morelle wrote on Twitter.

“BBC team all ok - some cuts/ bruises and burns. Very shaken though - it was extremely scary,” she said.

Italian officials said six people had to be taken to hospital, but none were in a serious condition.

Etna is Europe’s most active volcano. After a quiet couple of years it burst into action in February with repeated explosive eruptions that sent orange plumes of lava into the air.

Thursday’s explosion was the result of a so-called phreatomagmatic eruption, caused by magma hitting water — in this case snow. </s> Scientists investigating recent eruptions on Sicily’s Mount Etna were injured when magma spewing from the volcano hit snow, causing an explosion, according to Italian news reports.

The Catania operation centre of Italy’s volcanology institute confirmed that members of a team taking measurements on the active volcano had been injured, but had no details on the numbers involved or the seriousness of the injuries.

The Catania Today website reported that at least three volcanologists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred just before noon, and that some were injured.

A BBC journalist and camerawoman on assignment at the volcano were among the injured.

Their film shows an explosion of steam followed by a second explosion of boiling rocks and people running away from the explosion.

The clip continues in a snowcat, where a man holds a paper towel to stanch the bleeding from his head and hugs his wife.

Authorities say about 35 tourists were on the volcano when the explosion occurred around midday, and that the guides who accompanied them helped bring them to safety.

The president of the Italian Alpine Club chapter in Catania, Umberto Marino, said he was traveling up the volcano in a snowcat when injured people started running in his direction.

“The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Marino was quoted by the Catania Today website as saying.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, four people including three German tourists were hospitalised, mostly with head injuries. None of the injuries were listed as grave.

Italy’s volcanology institute said the explosion took place at about 8,858ft above sea level, putting the tourists at more than 1,640ft below the base of the newest southeast Mount Etna crater where the lava flow originated.

Among those present when the explosion occurred was a scientist from Italy’s volcanology institute, Boris Behncke, who said on his Facebook page that he had suffered a bruise to his head.

“I am generally fine and having a good, well-deserved beer in this moment,” he added.

The BBC’s global science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, was on assignment on Etna and described the experience in a series of tweets.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam - not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” Morelle wrote.

The BBC crew was shaken but physically OK despite having suffered cuts, bruises and burns, she wrote.

Morelle later showed her colleague’s jacket on air with a big hole in the back where the material had melted in the explosion.

Morelle said the explosion was “a reminder of how dangerous (and) unpredictable volcanoes can be.”

Mount Etna has been active for the past two days, creating a visual spectacle as it spews lava and ash into the air. A new lava flow started from the southeastern crater on Wednesday, and was advancing with a temperature above 1,000 degrees Centigrade in an area covered by snow, creating the explosion.

Officials at nearby Catania airport announced Thursday they would reduce arrivals by half to five flights an hour due to Mount Etna’s ash clouds. Departures were continuing as scheduled.

Thousands of tourists each year visit Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes located on the eastern coast of Sicily. Eruptions occur frequently, although incidents that involve injured tourists are rare. </s> Mount Etna spewed a large plume of volcanic ash over Sicily on December 24. Local reports said the activity prompted the closure of Catania–Fontanarossa Airport on Monday. This footage shows the volcano from the Riposto area of the island. Credit: battagliero84 via Storyful

Lava and ash are spewing from a new fracture on Italy’s Mount Etna amid an unusually high level of seismic activity at the Sicilian volcano, according to observatory officials.

A swarm of 130 tremors had been recorded by midday on Monday, the most powerful registering a magnitude of 4.0, the Mount Etna Observatory said.

It reported lava flows from the volcano and said a new fracture had opened near its southeast crater.

The owner of a refuge on the volcano said hikers were being brought down from higher elevations to 1900 metres for their safety.

But there are no reports of injuries, and so far the spewing ash is not causing disruptions to residents of nearby towns and cities.

Etna, the largest of Italy’s three active volcanoes, has been particularly active since July.
An eruption at Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily injures at least ten people, including several in a BBC News crew.