Etna's lava flow halts advance - for now

Fountains of ash, rock and sand rained down on Sicily’s Mount Etna, but a river of molten lava that had threatened to swallow up a tourist station stopped its fiery advance.

Emergency officials welcomed Etna’s truce, but warned that Europe’s most active volcano still was not finished after two weeks of round-the-clock eruptions, and that the Rifugio Sapienza tourist station was still at risk.

‘‘The situation has improved,’’ the head of Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, Francesco Barberi, said.

‘‘The Rifugio Sapienza is, for the moment, safe.’’

Despite the lull, at least 70 bulldozers remained on the scene halfway up the volcano, shoring up the last protective barrier of earth and volcanic rock still standing between the river of lava and the Sapienza base.

In a span of just three minutes on Tuesday, the 495ft wide stream of lava overran the other two barriers at the base, and swallowed a cable car station and a building used to store ski equipment.

The lava was so close that Mr Barberi was considering pulling out his work crews. Today they constructed a new escape route, clearing a path to a state road leading down the mountain.

A departing point for treks or cable car rides up the mountain and for skiers, Rifugio Sapienza is a popular spot. It sits at an altitude of 6,266 feet and includes a hostel, souvenirs shops and restaurants.

Lava overran the car park last week, along three pylons of the nearby ski lift.

None of the towns and villages on Etna’s slopes is threatened by the current eruption. But officials yesterday nevertheless outlined evacuation plans for towns, just in case.

Etna’s last major eruption was in 1992, but it rumbles into action every few months.