Explosions at Sicily’s Mount Etna blew volcanic ash up to 4,000 metres into the air on Monday night, with local photographers capturing spectacular images of the volcano’s red plume glowering in Malta’s night sky. 

Volcanic research centres reported an eruption at 8.21pm, with fallout reaching the village of Fleri, province of Catania. A volcanic ash plume rose high into the air and began moving south at a speed of 15 knots, according to an observatory in Toulouse, France. 

Nobody was injured in the explosion. 

The volcanic activity could be seen from Malta and led to some spectacular night imagery, as photos posted to Facebook showed. 

Photographers Daniel Cilia, Ian Noel Pace, Viktor Vella and Franco Aloisio were among those who shared photos they took of the towering volcano, which is around 210km away from Malta, glowing red in the night sky. 

Mount Etna is Europe’s highest active volcano as well as Italy’s highest peak south of the Alps. It is also one of Europe’s most active volcanoes, with volcanic activity almost constantly reported. The most recent major incident dates back to December 2018, when volcanic ash forced authorities to shut down airspace around the volcano. 

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