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© Roberto Cassar
People in Naxxar, Madliena, Mellieha and in Gozo said this evening that they could (faintly) see the latest eruption of Mt Etna in Sicily.

The distance between Mount Etna and the tiny island state of Malta is about 312 km and this is indeed a very rare sight. During explosive Etna eruptions in the past Malta has suffered from ash plumes fallout on several occasions.

In 2002 Mount Etna made a heavy physical presence in Malta when ash from the volcano crossed the Mediterranean and coated the country in an insidious film of black fine dust after a volcanic plume was swept there by north to north easterly winds from Sicily.