Mount Etna Eruption Caught On Video: See Photos, Footage Of Italy Volcano Spewing Fire, Ash

Italy’s Mount Etna erupted Thursday, injuring at least 10 people as it spewed fire, ash and boiling rocks. Present at the time of the explosion were members of a BBC news crew who caught the event on video. Also nearby were several tourists, including a 78-year-old woman who was wounded, as well as a number of scientists from a volcanology institute in Italy.

Six people remained in nearby hospitals Thursday afternoon recovering from injuries.

Read: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts In River Of Lava

“The material thrown into the air fell back down, striking the heads and bodies of people who were closest,” Umberto Marino, president of the Italian Alpine Club traveling up the volcano at the time of the eruption, told Catania Today.

Rebecca Morelle, BBC’s science correspondent who was on scene, tweeted about the event, noting that the group “had a very lucky escape.”

“Many injured – some head injuries, burns, cuts and bruises. Volcanologist said most dangerous incident experience in his 30 year career,” Morelle tweeted.

Morelle noted that similar explosions had killed people in the past.

“Running down a mountain pelted by rocks, dodging burning boulders and boiling steam – not an experience I ever ever want to repeat,” she said.

Mount Etna, a stratovolcano located on the east coast of the island of Sicily, has been regularly erupting since as far back as 1500 B.C., making it the longest erupting volcano on Earth. The volcano erupted last month, launching lava into the sky overnight. Before that, it erupted in October, causing a nearby airport in Catania to be temporarily shut down due to smoke despite there being no injuries. Bystanders noted smaller and more sporadic ash explosions in September, as well.

Etna’s last severe eruption took place in 1992, when the resulting lava put the nearby village of Zafferana in danger. The volcano previously had an active eruption rate of 1.7 years until 2001, when activity became more frequent.

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