Rome, 11 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Sicily's Mount Etna came alive overnight and spewed hot lava, but there was no major ejection of ash over the Italian Mediterranean island and no reports of damage.

Operations at the island's Catania airport continued as usual on Saturday morning, although the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) raised the alert level a notch from yellow to orange.

From a distance, the glowing lava and debris could be seen being spit upwards in the darkness and then slowly flowing down the mountain. The volcano was particularly active at the south-east crater.

Etna is Europe's largest active volcano at approximately 3,300 metres high.

Photo: MIA archive