Eruption!

Mount Etna, located on Italy's southern island of Sicily has burst into life, six years after its previous major eruption. Spewing out columns of molten lava, hundreds of metres into the air, clouds of ash have wafted over surrounding areas, forcing the closure of Catania Airport, 7 miles to the south. Etna, dubbed the Good Giant by locals, stands 11,000 feet tall and is Europe's most active volcano. Most of its eruptions do not cause casualties.

I visited Etna in July 2001, and went up the mountain to an altitude of 2,900 metres (9,700 feet). None of the features present on the mountain above 2,000 metres (6,800 feet) are there today. A hot crevice, with a soil temperature of 90C / 200F is rather difficult to locate today, as a 500 foot high ashcone has built up above it. Another cone, just outside a resort, decided to erupt as well, changing the landscape for good.

You can monitor developments with Etna on this website. When you visit the BBC website, and search for Etna, a videolink will pop up, showing last night's eruption in its full glory. I cannot link to the video.