Italy earthquakes: Aerial footage shows devastation in Sicily after Mount Etna eruption triggers quakes

Mount Etna triggered 4.3 and 4.8-magnitude earthquakes that injured 28 and left 600 homeless

Aerial footage captured by Italian emergency services has revealed the scale of the damage from the two earthquakes that hit Sicily this week.

Mount Etna, Europe’s highest and most active volcano, erupted on Monday, triggering 4.3 and 4.8-magnitude earthquakes that injured 28 people and left 600 homeless.

The earthquakes caused severe damage to buildings across a broad area near Catania, one of the most densely populated metropolitan districts in Sicily.

Italian news agency ANSA said an 80-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of a house.

Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile) chief Angelo Borrelli said: “We are working to assist the population, the residents who have been left homeless, to give them a place to stay while we check the safety of the structures.”

Vito Crimi, government undersecretary, said: “Etna remains a dangerous volcano, and this country of ours is unfortunately fragile.”

Deputy prime ministers Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini are expected to visit the affected areas on Thursday.