Ash spewing from Sicily’s Mount Etna has forced the closure of the island’s largest airport for the fifth consecutive day.

Lava flows from the Mt Etna volcano, near Catania in Sicily, southern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 23 , 2021. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)ROME – Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, has awed even seasoned volcanologists in recent days with spectacular spurts of lava lighting up the Sicilian sky each night. The latest eruption overnight petered out by around 0900 GMT Tuesday, according to Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology. For over a week, Etna has been belching lava, ash and volcanic rocks on a regular basis. Volcanologist Boris Behncke of the national institute’s Etna observation center has followed the latest paroxysms with awe.