U.S. tourist killed by lightning strike while hiking Sicily’s Mount Etna

An American tourist was killed after being struck by lightning while hiking Sicily’s Mount Etna following a period of volcanic activity, Italian firefighters said Monday.

The 29-year-old man from Kansas was found and transported to hospital by helicopter crew after being struck on Sunday evening in a prohibited area on Mount Etna’s eastern slope, authorities told The Associated Press.

He was later declared dead by medical personnel. His name was not released as next-of-kin is still being notified.

The man was found at about 4,600 feet in the Rocca Capra area.

3:02 Mount Etna eruption: Drone video shows stunning close-up of lava flow

Authorities have closed areas of the volcano’s slope to hikers due to prolonged volcanic activity, which forced the closure of the airport in Catania for most of last week.

Planes were re-routed to other airports following the closure and Catania airport resumed flights on Saturday after the volcanic alert was downgraded.

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Officials said that lightning strikes have killed more people on Mount Etna in recent decades than volcanic activity. The last eruption-related fatalities were in 1987.

Last June, Mount Etna, which is known to erupt frequently, sent a cloud of smoke and ash several kilometres into the air but officials said that activity posed no danger to the population.

0:58 Mount Etna erupts again: Spectacular ash clouds rise over Sicily

Italy’s INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the spectacle on Europe’s most active volcano was caused when part of the southeast crater collapsed, resulting in hot lava flows. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months.

The area of danger was confined to the summit of Mount Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution.

In February 2025, local officials asked tourists to stop flocking to Mount Etna to watch volcanic eruptions.

Many tourists were climbing up the Sicilian slope to get a better look at the substantial lava flows that cut through the mountain’s deep snowpack.

In a post on Facebook, Sicily’s head of regional civil protection, Salvo Cocina, described how narrow streets leading to the volcano had been packed with parked cars and traffic jams, making it almost impossible for emergency vehicles to access the site.

—With files from The Associated Press