Stromboli volcano eruption: Tourist killed as Italy volcano erupts with huge plume of ash

The person, believed to be a male tourist, was killed by falling stones during a walk, a rescue service official said, with Italy's ANSA news agency quoting Marco Giorgianni, the mayor of neighbouring Lipari, as suggesting the victim had died while hiking towards the volcano's summit. A second person was injured, with the BBC reporting 70 people have been evacuated from the island so far.

ANSA also reported that tourists, frightened by the unexpected explosion on the small Mediterranean island, had thrown themselves into the sea.

It said two new lava spouts are creeping down the volcano on the famed island.

The volcano, which erupted just before 5pm local time on Wednesday, was also shooting out red-hot rocks called lapilli, local sources said.

One eyewitness added: ”A huge column of dense black smoke is coming out of the crater."

Another said: "There was a powerful explosion. We heard a bang, then a column of smoke and lapilli fell onto Ginostra, and flames on the slopes of the volcano".

Fires have broken out across the island, according to fire services and forest rangers.

One concerned Twitter user posted: "Major #eruption on #Stromboli sudden and major, I really hope everyone is ok the whole mountain just blew up a few seconds ago."

Another added: "Tourists diving into the sea to avoid lava after Stromboli eruption.

"Sudden and violent. It's not a particularly active volcano, so that's a surprise."

Michela Favorito, who works in a hotel near Fico Grande, on the east side of the island, said: "We saw the explosion from the hotel. There was a loud roar.

"We plugged our ears and after this a cloud of ash swept over us. "The whole sky is full of ash, a fairly large cloud."

Witness Gianluca Giuffre told the agency people barricaded themselves in houses and sought shelter in the sea after the "very violent explosion followed by a shower of glowing lapilli and lava material".

Fiona Carter, a British tourist on the island of Panarea, some 27 km (17 miles) from Stromboli, heard the blast.

She said: ""There was a loud boom and a huge plume of white and grey smoke rose up from Stromboli. The locals were clearly shocked.

"The cloud became a very big mushroom cloud. Then we saw streams of red-hot lava running towards the small village of Ginostra.

"The cloud continues to spread across the sky and Stromboli has disappeared from view. Highly unusual and huge explosion according to the locals."

Fires were reported on the western side of the island and it was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.

Stefano Branca, a vulcanologist with the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV), said there had been a "paroxysmal eruption" on the island, when high-pressure magma explodes from a shallow, underground reservoir. "

He added: "These are events of great intensity and quite rare."

Footage uploaded by Skyline Webcams showed large plumes of ash rising into the air.

Stromboli, one of the eight Aeolian Islands, has erupted many times and is constantly active, often visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea.

As a result, it is known as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean".

Tourists often climb to the 924-metre (3,000-foot) summit of the volcano and peer into its crater, with small puffs of molten rock regularly blasted into the sky. It was not clear if anyone was on the crater at the time of the blast.

The island was the setting for a 1950 movie starring Ingrid Bergman and, with other islands in the Aeolian archipelago, has become a favourite location in recent decades for holiday homes for the rich and famous.

The Foreign Office has changed its travel advice for Italy, saying: "Local authorities have responded and are monitoring the situation; there are no reports of significant impact on populated areas, but local authorities are assisting those on the island who wish to leave; if you're in the area, you should follow the advice of local authorities."

Stromboli's population is around 500, while its economy is based almost entirely on tourism.