Mount Etna: Italian volcano erupts spewing ash onto Catania

Italy's largest volcano Mount Etna erupted on Sunday spewing ash onto Catania, the largest city in eastern Sicily.

Sicily is an island which is part of Italy, and is also close to the island of Malta.

Many parts of Catania have been covered in a layer of dark gritty dust, with images showing cars covered.

More than 50 flights in and out of the city had been cancelled after the eruption spewed volcanic ash onto runways at the Catania Fontanarossa Airport - but resumed again on Monday morning.

The airport said on Twitter, that flights to the popular tourist destination would be suspended, until normal safety conditions could be guaranteed.

Residents of the towns of Adrano and Biancavilla reported hearing loud booms coming from the volcano on Sunday, but there have been no reported injuries.

The 3,330 metre high volcano erupts several times a year, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island, and experts are trying to work out how serious this eruption is.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), closely monitors Etna using special instruments on the slopes of the volcano to monitor its activity.

But it indicated that monitoring had recorded evidence of an increase in tremor activity in recent days.

It said that cloud cover on a rainy day was obstructing views of the eruption.

Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe and the largest of three volcanos in Italy.

The volcano was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2013 and attracts thousands of visitors a year.