Etna eruption threatens town

Italy's Mount Etna is undergoing its worst eruption in a decade

The Italian Government has declared a state of emergency in the Sicilian province of Catania in response to Mount Etna's most violent eruption since 1992.

The lava flow from the volcano is threatening to engulf the town of Nicolosi on Etna's southern flank.

Nicolosi's mayor, Salvator Moschetto, had earlier said he would call a press conference to say his community had been abandoned unless a state of emergency was declared.

About 70 families have been served with evacuation warnings as the lava from Europe's highest and most active volcano edges closer.

With a constant rolling roar, Mount Etna is spewing great lumps of molten rock hundreds of feet into the air.

Local vulcanologists say Nicolosi is safe, at least for now, but Mayor Moschetto says his town has been abandoned by the authorities and he is angry about the lack of support from the government.

But the lava is now only two miles from Nicolosi, and the next two days will tell whether the town has to be evacuated or not.

Divine intervention

Nicolosi, halfway up the southern slopes of the 3,350-metre mountain, has been swamped by lava before.

Legend has it that in 1886 the local archbishop managed to divert the red-hot wave by holding up a statue of Saint Anthony.

The last time Etna posed a threat was in 1992, when lava streams headed towards Zafferana, a town of 7,000 people on Etna's lower slopes.

The Italian military had to use controlled explosions to divert the flow and save the town from destruction.