A shot at glory.

Common sense would dictate you go in the opposite direction of an actively erupting volcano. But the prospect of getting a cool selfie for the 'gram possesses its own powerful gravity, as flabbergasted Italian authorities are discovering.

The occasion is the most recent eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna, which blew its top earlier this month. Since then, the volcano, which erupts almost every year, has been oozing lava down onto its snowy slopes, attracting thousands of tourists, including hikers, skiers, and all kinds of outdoors types and sundry, the New York Times reports.

"Etna is giving us a breathtaking spectacle: A lava flow has reached our territory," Mayor of Adrano Fabio Mancuso told residents this week, as quoted by the NYT. "A lot of people are trying to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it is extremely dangerous!"

These tourists aren't just imperiling themselves. The throng of thrillseekers is also impeding rescue workers trying to reach the area, according to local authorities. In a statement Sunday, per the NYT, Sicily regional civil protection leader Salvo Cocina described the situation as a "constant flow" of about 1,000 people, whose parked cars are blocking emergency vehicles.

And the more people that show up, the more who inevitably get themselves into trouble. So far, at least eight people who got lost on their way to the hotspot, which requires a lengthy hike through snow, have needed rescuing, according to a local news report.

"With the dark, the risk of falling and sinking into the snow increases proportionally with the increase of people," Cocina said, per the NYT. 

Still, the lava flows move at a glacial crawl, if they haven't come to a stop already; the risk of succumbing to one is pretty low, though skiers often test their luck.

Perhaps the biggest threat, other than getting lost or being woefully unprepared for the trek, is exploding snow. When lava encroaches on the frozen stuff, the rapid change in temperature can cause build-ups of high-pressure steam.

"In some deeper spots, this can cause an immediate (and literally EXPLOSIVE) evaporation of the snow, resulting in the projection of hot stones, like bullets everywhere," Giulia Campisi, a spokeswoman for the volcano tour agency Go-Etna, told the NYT. "Events like these can take even experts by surprise."

For these reasons and others, authorities in various municipalities have restricted access to volcano sites or have ordered spectators to stay outside a certain distance of the lava flows.

Good luck keeping them out, though. Stopping all of them sounds as futile halting the very endless tides of molten rock they're all lining up to see.

More on volcanoes: Authorities Ask Tourists to Stop Flocking to Site of Volcanic Eruption


Share This Article