Watch: BBC crew caught in Mount Etna explosion, captured the moment on camera

A group of tourists have suffered minor injuries after they were caught up in the erupting volcano Mount Etna in Sicily. BBC team was among the group, recording. And when the volcano burst out, they caught the explosion on camera.

BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle was at the scene, and she described the event.

When the explosion happened, steaming hot rocks and steam blasted out of the volcano. The rocks fell into the snow, thus making steam that disabled people from seeing what’s around them. Everyone rushed towards the snowcat to get to safety as soon as possible while the rocks were flying their way. And somehow, camerawoman Rachel Price kept her cool and went on filming. It seems like she fell a couple of times, but she kept on running and shooting.

Surprisingly, and fortunately, nobody got seriously injured. The BBC crew and the tourists ended up with a couple of bruises and cuts. It turns out that the guide had the most serious injury, as he suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Back at hotel now after Etna explosion. Here's @NewsCamerawoman with the massive hole a lump of rock burnt through her coat. pic.twitter.com/GVSyj3Sa9A

— Rebecca Morelle (@BBCMorelle) March 16, 2017

Etna is the largest and the most active volcano in Europe. The tourists were there for a visit, and BBC crew filmed it to make a report about advances in volcano monitoring. Of course, none of them went there on their own. You can visit Etna only with a guide or with a scientific team (if you’re a reporter). And of course, the visits occur when there’s no danger of the volcano going active. However, it can still surprise everyone, including the guides and the scientists, which happened this time.

Thanks to the pure luck and quick reaction, nobody got hurt. I don’t know how the camerawoman managed to keep filming, but she did. Thanks to her being professional, we have this scary moment recorded. I think I’d just ditch the camera and keep running like crazy. What about you? Do you think you’d be able to keep filming?

[via BBC]