Happening now:
Another video showed two climbers running toward the eruption as the rest of the sightseers scrambled down the hiking trail.
No fatalities have been reported at this time. According to Fox Weather, the eruption didn't go past Valle del Leonne (Valley of the Lion), so it was well out of the way of populated areas.
Considering the size of the mountain (over 11,000 feet high), the tourists seen in the above video may have been farther from the eruption than you'd think ... which goes to show the insane scale of volcanic events (Italian officials called this a "relatively low-level volcanic eruption").
More videos:
And more from Fox for the volcano nerds:
Officials said the pyroclastic flow was probably produced by the collapse of material from the northern side of the Southeast Crater.
Other photos and video show people on the volcano at the time running for safety as smoke and ash rise into the sky and begin to move down the side of the mountain.
The INGV said the explosive activity from the Southeast Crater has since transitioned into lava fountains, and ashfall was reported in some areas, such as Piano Vetore.
What a way to start a Monday, eh??
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
