Video captures BBC crew's escape from exploding Mount Etna in It - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

Video captures BBC crew's escape from exploding Mount Etna in Italy

Snow-covered Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption in the early hours of Thursday, March 16, 2017. (Source: AP photo/Salvatore Allegra) Snow-covered Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption in the early hours of Thursday, March 16, 2017. (Source: AP photo/Salvatore Allegra)

(RNN) - BBC journalists and tourists sprinted for safety on Thursday when molten lava from Mount Etna made contact with snow, sending rocks and other debris skyward in Sicily.

The event that shot debris into the sky is called a phreatic explosion, Volcano Discovery said.

Onlookers suffered head injuries, bruises and cuts from rocks and other debris that rained down on the group frantically trying to escape from the mountainside. BBC video captured part of the dash for safer terrain as well as damage to clothing worn by the BBC crew. 


The Associated Press reported that 10 people were injured in the incident. 

Etna has a record of eruptions dating back 2,000 years, and is Europe’s largest and most active volcano, according to Volcano Discovery. 

Etna rises above the town of Catania, and records of its activity date back to 1,500 B.C. According to the Volcano Discovery site, there have been more than four dozen eruptions, with one ongoing.

The volcano continues to register a lava flow.   


 
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