Volcano erupts on Italian island of Stromboli

A volcano on the island of Stromboli erupted on Wednesday, throwing ash high into the sky, the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology said.

Italy's ANSA newsagency said tourists, frightened by the unexpected explosion on the small Mediterranean island, had thrown themselves into the sea.

The island was the setting for a 1950 movie starring Ingrid Bergman and, with other islands in the Aeolian archipelago, has become a favourite location in recent decades for holiday homes for the rich and famous.