What made Mount Etna's latest eruption so rare

Mount Etna, the volcano that towers over eastern Sicily, has again captivated the world with a spectacular show, spewing smoke and high into the sky.

- BY COLLEEN BARRY

But the defining event of Monday’s (Jume 2) eruption was the more rare pyroclastic flow from the southwestern crater not visible from a distance.

The volcano is Europe’s most active and the continent's largest. Etna attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance, most stunningly from the Ionian Sea.

Etna’s latest eruption caused neither injuries nor evacuations, but sent a group of tourists on its flanks running, as captured by video posted on social media with smoke towering in the background.