Italy's Mount Etna lights up night sky in spectacular eruption

ROME: Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's highest and most active volcano, erupted in spectacular fashion late on Thursday, lighting up the night sky with explosions and bright red molten lava.

The eruption centred on the volcano's southeastern crater, at a height of around 2,900 metres, sent ash and plumes of smoke 8 km into the sky, Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology said.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The 3,330 metre high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island of Sicily. The last major eruption was in 1992.