Tuesday, January 03, 2012

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ETNA



You'll be glad to know that Sicily's two volcanoes, Etna and Stromboli, decided to add their voices to those of the fireworks on the night of New Year's Eve - New Year's Day.  Stromboli was first off the mark, with fire at exactly midnight whilst Etna, as usual, did things in her own time and in her own way, with three explosions in the new southeast crater at 3.32 am.

Sadly the celebrations brought their toll of casualties all over Italy, with 561 people [30 in Sicily]  injured by fireworks.  A man in Rome who, on a chilly night, lit a firework in his apartment, intending to take it out on the balcony, did not manage to get outside in time and was killed by the explosion.  The apartment was devastated and four children were also injured, one very seriously.  The other fatality was a man injured by a stray bullet near Naples as people fired into the air in celebration.  Some town councils had banned fireworks for the night but now politicians of all parties and the public in general are calling for changes in the law regarding the purchase and use of fireworks.

3 comments:

Ellee Seymour said...

Oh dear, I haven't heard of any casualties from England, probably because our displays are now virtually all arrange.
Happy New Year to you and Simi. x

J. M. P. said...

Is there any danger with both volcaones throwing fire? I hope you're safe.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Glad there were no casualties over there, Ellee. Happy New Year from us to you. x Hi, Josep. No, Stromboli is an island off the Sicilian coast and there's no alarm for the people there. Etna is not expected to erupt dangerously in the near future and we are 2 hours away from it here. Thanks for your concern.

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