Urgent.. Suspension of all flights at Catania airport

Catania airport authorities announced that flights in the eastern Sicilian city were suspended after a volcanic eruption on nearby Mount Etna, which led to volcanic ash falling on the runways of the airport.

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The 3,330-meter-high volcanic mountain can suddenly erupt several times a year and release lava and ash over the island overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Its last major eruption was in 1992.

The airport issued a statement on Twitter in which it noted the suspension of flights to and from the city of Catania until it is ensured that the conditions are safe.

Photos circulating in Italian media showed cars covered with a layer of dark dust in the city.

The most active volcano in Europe erupted at Mount Etna, on Sunday, which led to the release of a cloud of volcanic ash that covered the sky of the city of " Catania" the largest Italian city east of the island of Sicily, and the authorities ordered the suspension of flights at the airport and the atmosphere of the city.

The British network " Sky News" reported that the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, pointed to the obstruction of the cloud cover of the eruption, which produces a display of flaming lava, while the volcano does not occur.

The institute said that ash fell on Catania and at least one town on the inhabited slopes of Mount Etna, and there were no reports of injuries, while Italian state television, from Catania, reported that the city's airport will be closed at least until Sunday evening, with flight operations temporarily suspended due to the ash fall.

Monitoring devices recorded evidence of increased vibrations in recent days, while the Italian news agency " INSA" explained that residents of the towns of Adrano and Biancavilla spoke of hearing a loud explosion from the volcano site, earlier on Sunday morning.