Thousands of tourists have taken over the snowy slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily in recent weeks, freezing the roads and obstructing the paths of the rescue teams, said the Italian authorities, despite their efforts to keep people away safely explosive lava flows.
Mount Etna breaks up regularly and has attracted tourists for decades. But the last eruption, which started on February 8, attracted so many photographers, hikers and nature aficionados that he raised a warning choir of local Italian officials.
Salvo Cocina, head of regional civil protection of Sicily, in a statement Sunday described a “constant flow” of around 1,000 people, as well as “wild parking lot on the edges of tight streets” which created an impasse for emergency vehicles.
“With the darkness, the risk of falling and sinking into the snow increases in proportion to the increase in people,” he said.
“Etna gives us a breathtaking spectacle: a flow of lava has reached our territory,” said mayor Fabio Mancuso d’Adrano warned His city near Etna’s foot one day earlier. “Many people try to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it’s extremely dangerous!”
He said that collision lava with snow could cause violent explosions when snow melts quickly, causing high pressure vapor that can throw rocks and a lava at a long distance. “A deadly danger for anyone near the flow!” He said in an article on social networks. “For this reason, I signed a prescription prohibiting anyone from approaching the front of the lava.”
In Ragalna, another community on the slopes of Etna, the authorities ordered Everyone to stay at least 500 meters, almost 550 meters, far from the flow of lava.
But as the authorities have issued orders, people always seemed to download images and videos taken near lava flows. Videos Shared by the company Accuweather has shown that people are on a snowy slope while the lava was and the pieces of melted material fell away. In a clip, the body of the body of tourism can be seen against the red lava in cascade not far in the background.
“Some people have managed to independently approach certain areas, but local municipalities have now imposed restrictions to prevent access to the eruption sites for security reasons,” said Giulia Campisi, spokesperson for ‘A Volcano Tour agency, Go-etna.
Ms. Campisi declared in an email that the eruption affected the western flank of Etna, where fewer tourists know the trails. “To reach the flow of lava in this particularly cold winter,” she said, “you have to walk long in deep snow.”
Go-andna did not take tourists directly into lava flows, she said, adding that it was remaining by local restrictions and safety measures. It also cited the danger that occurs when the hot lava meets freezing snow.
“In some deeper places, this can cause an immediate (and literally explosive) evaporation of snow, causing the projection of hot stones, like bullets everywhere,” she said. “Events like these can even take experts by surprise.”
Stefano Branca, director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, described the activity of “eruption of typical summit”. He added: “Only people who come a few meters from the lava flow can be in danger because the heat of the lavas can cause small hydromagmatic explosions caused by the rapid fusion of snow.”
Elisabetta POVOLEDO Contributed reports.
