Mount Etna in Sicily erupted unexpectedly last night, producing a paroxysm. The eruption began at 9:20 p.m. and increased to a full-blown paroxysm within half an hour. A lava fountain several hundred meters high was produced, feeding a lava flow that has not now completely stopped. VAAC recorded volcanic ash at 4900 meters above sea level. MIROVA recorded a very strong thermal radiation with a power of 6088 MW. According to an INGV report, the lava did not originate from the lava fountain alone, but 2 fissures also opened on the south side of the New Southeast Crater cone. In the course of the crack opening, 3 pyroclastic flows went off and a 2nd lava flow was created. Lava flowed in the gap between the Barbagallo and Monte Supino cinder cones. This was also the path taken by the flows during some of the last eruptions. How far the front descended has not yet been communicated. Volcanologists observed a fast inflation and the slope increased by 0.1 microrad. At 10:50 p.m., the explosions subsided again and the tremor decreased. Until now, however, it is still moderately elevated.