American Tourist Killed by Lightning Strike on Mount Etna
A 29-year-old American tourist was killed by a lightning strike while hiking in an area on Mount Etna that was closed to visitors due to volcanic activity. Authorities noted that in recent decades, more people have died on the mountain from lightning strikes than from eruptions.
The Guardian reports that an American tourist was killed on Sunday by a lightning strike on Mount Etna in Sicily, one of the world's most active volcanoes, while hiking in an area that was closed to visitors following recent volcanic activity. The 29-year-old man from Kansas was rescued by helicopter after being struck by lightning in an exposed area above the tree line. His death was later confirmed by medical teams. His name has not been released.
Authorities have closed large areas on the slopes of the volcano to hikers due to the prolonged activity of Etna, which even led to the closure of the airport in nearby Catania for most of last week. Officials noted that in recent decades, more people have died on Etna from lightning strikes than as a result of volcanic activity. The last deaths caused directly by an eruption on Europe's most active volcano occurred in 1987.
As recalled, last month the volcano erupted and caused significant disruptions to air traffic in the Catania area due to a volcanic ash cloud that covered the skies of the region. According to Italian authorities, the ash emission began in the morning hours and intensified rapidly. Within a short time, an ash column formed that rose to a height of about 1.5 kilometers above the mountain's summit, while models from the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) predicted that the ash cloud would move towards the south and south-east.
