Stromboli eruption: Tourists flee 'high intensity' explosion on Italian island as volcano spews ash and lava

A volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli has erupted for the second time in two months, sending streams of ash and lava into the sky and sea and forcing tourists to flee.

Stromboli, a tiny island off the north coast of Sicily, is a popular spot for visitors to the area who come to enjoy the beaches.

But on Wednesday a “high intensity” explosion was recorded by Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology as the volcano erupted, spewing huge clouds of black smoke and ash high into the sky.

Streams of lava also were seen rolling down the hills into the sea, forcing tourists to flee.

Videos posted online show visitors who were close to the shore in small boats desperately racing out to sea to avoid clouds of hot ash, which tore down the slopes of the volcano and into the waters surrounding the island.

No injuries or damage has so far been reported, although the lava flows did start several small fires, forcing the authorities to send helicopters to dump water on the conflagrations.

The eruption is the second major activity at Stromboli in recent months. In July, a similar sudden explosion killed a tourist who was hiking towards the volcano's summit, and injured others.

Other people, who had been sunbathing on Stromboli’s beaches, jumped into the sea to escape the eruption and residents in the village of Ginsotra had to barricade themselves in their homes for safety.

Stromboli is a continuously active volcano and is constantly rumbling and sending out smaller streams of lava, but the recent eruptions are much larger than usual.

Nicole Bremner, a Londoner who was visiting the island during the latest eruption, said she watched the scene unfold from her boat.

“We had just dropped the anchor and were about to go swimming when my partner noticed a larger plume of smoke than usual.

"I started filming and then we heard the large blast and I filmed the plume. We then headed back over to see if we could help with any evacuation.”

Another tourist, Elena Schiera from Sicily, told CNN her family only narrowly escaped disaster.

“We were sailing at a safe distance as per ordinance, when all of a sudden we heard a loud bang and saw a large black cloud spewing out of the Stromboli crater and pouring into the sea,” she said.

“We immediately increased the speed of the boat to the maximum, even though, being a sailboat, the speed was still limited.

"Then the cloud arrived at sea and began to advance quickly towards us.

“At that moment the panic broke out because we had the cloud a few metres away from our stern, but thanks to my father who was at the helm we managed to get away just in time because then the cloud started to rise again.”

The mayor of Lipari, the most populated of the chain of islands Stromboli sits in, said the authorities were handling the situation.

“The situation is under control, but all the same we have activated the normal civil protection procedures.”