Mount Etna volcano erupts, raining ash on Catania, forcing shutdown of local airport
ROME (AP) — Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, is erupting, spewing ash on Catania, eastern Sicily’s largest city, and forcing a shutdown of that city’s airport. Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, which monitors Etna, said Sunday that cloud cover on a rainy day was impeding a view of what often is a spectacular display of flaming lava during the volcano’s not infrequent eruptions. The institute said ash had fallen on Catania and at least one town on Mount Etna’s inhabited slopes. No injures were reported. Italy state television, reporting from Catania, said the city’s airport would be closed at least until Sunday evening.