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US tourist dies after being struck by lightning while hiking Sicily's Mount Etna
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- An American tourist from Kansas was killed by a lightning strike while hiking Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, amid the volcano's recent intense activity.
- The 29-year-old man was rescued by helicopter from an exposed area at about 1,400 meters elevation but was later declared dead by medical personnel.
- Authorities have closed parts of Mount Etna to hikers due to ongoing volcanic activity, though it is unclear if the man was in a restricted area at the time of the incident.
- Officials noted that more fatalities on Mount Etna have resulted from lightning strikes over the past decades than from volcanic eruptions, with the last eruption-related deaths occurring in 1987.
