“Guys, you call this GRAZING THE IMPOSSIBLE” says the voice, out of breath, while the video frames a huge black cloud hovering over the summit craters of Etna. The voice continues, with fear vibrating in the vocal cords: “Look at this cloud, we were just a stone’s throw away and thank goodness we had a great guide who told us what to do“. This is the most vivid testimony of the paroxysm of Etna that occurred on the morning of June 2, 2025, with a muted start (the usual lava fountains around 5 am) and a terrifying finale: a pyroclastic flow resulting from the partial collapse of the South East Crater (SEC). Some saw everything from the coast, with cameras in hand. Others, like our group of hikers who were up there, saw everything too close. And this time too it was just an enormous wonder, without victims.

What happened

For months, Mount Etna had accustomed us to nice, harmless eruptions. A few roars, small explosions, spectacular lava columns … and nothing more. “Tourist” eruptions, as we call them around here. Today, June 2, it seemed like yet another tourist eruption. The lava fountains began before dawn … silent, delicate. Then, as the morning progressed, the eruptive power also increased. A lava flow started from the SEC heading, as always, towards Valle del Bove.

Finally, the degassing and explosive power began. A column of steam and ash, very high, rose far beyond the summit craters, while the magma gushed with ever greater pressure from the many fractures in the South East Crater. However, when the structure of the SEC gave way, on the northern side, there was a sudden collapse. A gigantic flow of mud, rocks, fire and melted ice ran at incredible speed down the slope towards the basin called Valle del Leone, hurling the extremely dangerous pyroclastic flow from there to Valle del Bove, first, and then into the sky.

An enormous mushroom of debris rose, visible from all of eastern Sicily. And the ash began to fall on the western side (Bronte, Adrano, Pedara), while the volcano slowly… very slowly… returned to calm.

Who was in danger?

In fact, no one was in danger. Because every time Etna erupts, the summit of the volcano is closed to visitors and cable car and shuttle ascents are blocked.

Some hikers, accompanied by their guides, were on the volcano but climbing from paths far from the site of the eruption. Usually you are allowed to climb from the sides of the volcano to “look out” over Valle del Bove at a safe distance. When the SEC collapsed and the pyroclastic flow took the slope raising a cloud of debris, the hikers ran the risk of being overwhelmed by fumes that were heavy to breathe… and that’s why they ran away, carried to safety by our very good guides. They wouldn’t have risked dying anyway because no one was near the craters at that moment.

The cities and towns at the foot of the mountains were not in any danger either. The houses are 20 km away from the eruptive scene and are well protected by rocky spurs, hills, crevasses and valleys. It was practically impossible for that flow to reach a town.

Scared of Etna?

Etna is a volcano. And you don’t play with volcanoes. But you shouldn’t be scared. A volcano should inspire fear, of course, but in the sense of “respect”. The wild forces of nature remind us that we humans are NOTHING and for this reason they must be respected. But you must not be afraid of a volcano three times higher than Vesuvius and four times higher than Stromboli, continuously monitored by the men and women of the INGV institute and described by trained and competent guides who always know where and how to keep tourists safe.

Etna is scary only when you venture into its territory as “ignorant”, that is without knowing it. Or as “arrogant”, that is believing to know more than those with expertise. Whoever dares to challenge the volcano, HE OR SHE is the one who must be afraid. Because this means looking for danger.

A final consideration

Please, allow us to make a final consideration, as people who have always lived under Mount Etna and worked with it. Living with a volcano, living with its moods, means learning to know it as one of the “family”.

It means smelling the air and feeling the danger that arrives even without obvious signals. We who live at the foot of the volcano are not “crazy”, nor “stupid”, nor “unconscious”.

Our ancestors chose Etna because Etna provides nourishment and shelter, before destruction. And we, following the example of our fathers and grandfathers, “talk” to the volcano… we feel it… we understand it. We are not afraid of living at the foot of the volcano. And we are not “unlucky” for this. Living on Etna, and admiring its power even with episodes like today’s, is a privilege. (THE PHOTOS ARE BY GO ETNA AND GUIDO LEONARDI)