Tours are returning to the slopes of Mount Etna after its largest eruption in four years sent tourists fleeing from a vast column of gas and ash on Monday.After footage of the dramatic eruption circulated online - showing tourists sprinting down the volcano as black ash spewed several kilometres into the sky - Italian geological authorities were quick to quell fears that tourists and residents were under any danger.

Mount Etna erupted on the Italian island of Sicily this morning, prompting a 'red alert' warning, with dramatic video showing tourists running down the mountain