ROME, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Italy's Stromboli volcano off the coast of Sicily erupted on Wednesday, sparking panic among residents and tourists.
A massive explosion was heard shortly after 12:00 p.m. local time expelling ashes, sand and other volcanic material, ANSA news agency reported.
No injuries to people or major damages have been reported, but local authorities asked all those on the island to remain in safe places to avoid being affected by volcanic ashes.
"Our monitoring systems have registered an explosion of high intensity on Stromboli at 12:17 p.m.," the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said in a statement.
"The explosion has affected the central-southern area of the volcano's crater terrace."
This was the second such event in a relatively short time.
The Stromboli also erupted on July 3, with the INGV registering "two main explosive events" occurring on one side of the crater, very close to each other.
On that occasion, the eruption killed a 35-year-old Italian man who was hiking on the volcano at the time, and injured a second person.
Mount Stromboli is located in the middle of Stromboli island, which is the smallest among the eight islands forming the Aeolian archipelago northeast of Sicily.
According to the INGV, Stromboli is "one of the most active volcanoes in the world."
"It is characterized by a persistent explosive activity, which is in fact called 'Strombolian', and is interrupted only by occasional episodes of more intense activity accompanied by lava flows," the institute explained.
