Italy's Stromboli volcano erupts, sparking huge ash cloud

Italy’s Stromboli volcano erupts, sparking huge ash cloud

By : AFP

Date: 28 August 2019 3:21pm WAT

This photo taken and handout on August 28, 2019 by Italy's National Firefighters Corps, the Vigili del Fuoco, shows a fire on the hillside of the Stromboli volcano after an explosion occured on August 28, 2019 on the volcanic Stromboli island, north of Sicilia. (Photo by Handout / Vigili del Fuoco / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / VIGILI DEL FUOCO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ---

This photo was taken and handout on August 28, 2019, by Italy’s National Firefighters Corps, the Vigili del Fuoco, shows a fire on the hillside of the Stromboli volcano after an explosion occurred on August 28, 2019, on the volcanic Stromboli island, north of Sicilia. (Photo by Handout / Vigili del Fuoco / AFP) /

Italy’s Stromboli volcano off the coast of Sicily erupted Wednesday, according to firefighters who rushed to put out wildfires sparked by lava flows.

Emergency services scrambled to launch motorboats and helicopters after the “strong explosion” in the south-central slope of the crater shook the island, but no-one was hurt, the fire service said on Twitter.

Falling ash from a vast mushrooming cloud covered the rooves of houses in the tiny windswept town of Stromboli, the Repubblica newspaper said, adding that the explosion had been felt on the nearby island of Salina.

The volcano, which is part of the Aeolian Islands archipelago in southern Italy, had been off-limits to walkers following a deadly eruption in June which killed a hiker and sent tourists fleeing.

Stromboli, just 12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles) in the area and 924 metres (3,000 feet) high, is just the top of a volcano that is largely underwater.

It is one of few in the world with almost continuous activity, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.