Stromboli clears up ash after deadly volcano eruption

The village of Ginostra on Stromobli began sweeping away layers of ash on Thursday, the day after a dramatic volcanic eruption on the tiny Italian island killed a hiker.

Emergency workers brushed and scooped volcanic cinders from streets and the tiny harbour in the village at the foot of the still smoking volcano.

Canadair waterbombing planes battled to put out fires started by two massive explosions which on Wednesday sent plumes of smoke two kilometres (over a mile) into the sky.

“We’ve dropped 320 water loads and we’re continuing,” said forestry official Giovanni Giacoppo.

People were told not to swim in the sea on Thursday because of the risk of mini tsunamis similar to those previous eruptions have caused.

Vulcanologists and locals told Italian media that given the previous day’s two large explosions, the volcano was unlikely to erupt again in the near future.

Around 1,000 tourists on Wednesday fled the island aboard ferries to the nearby Calabrian coast. Seventy people were evacuated from Ginostra, on the volcano’s southwest flank.

Hot rocks and fumes on Wednesday killed Sicilian hiker Massimo Imbesi, 35, and left his Brazilian walking companion in shock, emergency services said.