A father who was moments away from climbing the Stromboli volcano with his two sons when it erupted has told of their mad dash to get off the island as rocks rained down on them and people wept in the streets.
Peter Bridges, 56, from Pennsylvania, was on the seventh day of a two-week Italian holiday with sons Peter, 21, and Ian, 19, when the trio took a day-trip to Stromboli with his friend Rob, also 56.
While Rob sat in a bar to drink beers and enjoy the sunshine, Peter and his sons left to climb the volcano and were being fitted with safety equipment when it exploded.
The group fled back to the dock only to find their boat had gone, and Peter admitted that the thought of dying did cross his mind as fires encircled the town and people began jumping into the ocean to escape.
But fortunately their boat returned and the group were able to escape. On their way out they passed another town that was worse-hit, with fires burning among the houses and flaming rocks falling into the ocean.
Peter Bridges, 56, from Pennsylvania, was about to climb the Stromboli volcano with his two sons – Peter, 21, and Ian, 19 – when the mountain exploded – sending a huge plume into the air and raining rocks down on them (pictured, Peter’s view of the explosion as he was getting ready to climb)
Peter (front left), his sons Ian (far left) and Peter (right) ran back down to the port to try and get off the island when they bumped into friend Rob (rear) who had been drinking in a bar because he didn’t fancy the climb
The group reached the dock but found the boat they had arrived on was gone. In a panic and thinking they might be killed they bought tickets on the next ferry off the island, but arrived just in time to see it leave (pictured, their view from the dock)
Eventually, Peter’s boat returned for his group and they jumped on board before sailing to safety. He said he feels very lucky that he hadn’t started hiking earlier in the day after one man, 35-year-old Sicilian Massimo Imbesi, was killed by flying rock having already stared on his ascent
As the boat pulled away from Stomboli, Peter said they sailed past a nearby town that appeared to be worse-hit, with flaming rocks plunging into the water where a lot of people had gone for safety
Speaking to the Mail Online about the ordeal, he said: ‘We were standing in the street and my son Peter said “come over here and check this out”.
‘We ran around the corner and looked up and the volcano had completely changed since we arrived – the trail of smoke at the top had been replaced by a plume.’
Moments later, the mountain was rocked by two explosions which are among the most powerful ever measured on the island.
Lava spewed from the volcano’s vents, a plume of ash rose a mile into the sky, and burning chunks of rock were sent flying – one of which struck and killed 35-year-old Sicilian Massimo Imbesi, who had already started his climb.
His Brazilian walking companion, who has not been named, was left in shock, emergency services said.
‘When the boom first went off and the debris started flying we thought there could be more of this, we were all thinking this could get much worse, so the thought [of death] does cross your mind,’ Peter added.
‘People were screaming and running – out of houses, out of restaurants. We stopped to take a few photos, but then a man told us we had to go because rocks could hit us from where we were.
‘There were people crying in the streets. About half of them were running towards the volcano because they were worried about a tsunami, and the other half were running towards the sea to get away from the volcano.’
Peter said that he and his sons made a decision to head for the water, and fortunately ran into Rob along the way who was sprinting in the other direction to try and find them.
Sticking together, they made their way through the panicked crowds to the dock – but found to their horror that the boat they had arrived on was gone.
Emergency workers were cleaning up in the town of Ginostra on Thursday, sweeping volcanic ash and cinders from the street
A film of ash and rubble was left floating in Ginostra’s small harbour following the explosions, which were among the strongest to ever be recorded on the islands
Emergency services arrive on the island to assess the damage after the Stromboli volcano erupted killing one person
Canadair waterbombing planes battled to put out fires started by the eruption, having dropped 320 loads so far with operations continuing into Thursday
Tourists reportedly fled from their hotels and a large cloud of ash swept over the island of Stromboli on Wednesday
Ash rises into the sky after a volcano eruption on the small Mediterranean island of Stromboli, Italy today
In a panic, Peter said he bought tickets on the next ferry off the island and ran to try and get on it, but arrived just in time to see the boat pull away.
They then joined a group of people on the docks trying to get off the island, as Italian navy vessels were scrambled to help everyone escape.
Eventually, Peter said their boat returned and picked them all up before sailing to safety, though not before passing another village further along the island that was even worse than the one they had just left.
He added: ‘As we backed away you got a good view of what was going on, and the perspective looked worse from the next town over.
‘There were flaming boulders falling into the water, a lot of people in the water, and fires actually in the town.
‘We had to go around Stromboli, so up high we could see lava flows, burning rocks, fires, smoke and ash. We were just wondering what had happened to the people who had gone up on the climb before us.’
Italian authorities say one person was killed and several others received injuries, though none of them serious.
Peter and his group made it back to Lipari, where they were staying in an apartment, and watched for the rest of the day as Stromboli remained covered in ash and smoke which had dissipated by Thursday morning.
A cleanup operation is now underway in the village of Ginostra on Stromobli, where workers began sweeping away layers of ash and cinders.
Canadair waterbombing planes battled to put out fires started by two massive explosions which on Wednesday sent plumes of smoke two kilometres (over a mile) into the sky.
‘We’ve dropped 320 water loads and we’re continuing,’ said forestry official Giovanni Giacoppo.
People were told not to swim in the sea on Thursday because of the risk of mini tsunamis similar to those previous eruptions have caused.
Vulcanologists and locals told Italian media that given the previous day’s two large explosions, the volcano was unlikely to erupt again in the near future.
Around 1,000 tourists on Wednesday fled the island aboard ferries to the nearby Calabrian coast. Seventy people were evacuated from Ginostra, on the volcano’s southwest flank.
Fires are pictured on Stromboli island’s west side after the eruption today, which killed one person and injured another
The explosion occurred just before 5pm and was described by one hotel worker, who heard a ‘loud roar’
‘The cloud got bigger, white and grey. It enveloped Ginostra and now the cloud has covered Stromboli entirely,’ British tourist Fiona Carter said
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) confirmed there was an unexpected explosion on the small Mediterranean island
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology expert Stefano Branca said there had been a ‘paroxysmal eruption’ on the island of Stromboli today
The UK Foreign Office changed its travel advice for Italy, saying: ‘Local authorities have responded and are monitoring the situation; there are no reports of significant impact on populated areas, but local authorities are assisting those on the island who wish to leave; if you’re in the area, you should follow the advice of local authorities.’
Five-square-mile Stromboli has a population of around 500 and its economy is based almost entirely on tourism – much related to the volcano.
Known as The Lighthouse Of The Mediterranean, it stands 3,000ft above sea level, and is often busy with tour groups who can peer into its crater.
Yesterday’s eruptions were categorised as a ‘paroxysmal eruption’ by expert Stefano Branca, who explained it was when high-pressure magma explodes from a shallow, underground reservoir.
‘These are events of great intensity and quite rare,’ he said.
A previous massive eruption in December 2002 prompted a tidal wave after magma from a particularly violent eruption cascaded into the sea. Six people were injured.
Piers, boats and some buildings were swept away.
‘It’s been a long time since we had an eruption of this magnitude,’ former local councillor Gianluca Giuffre said. ‘My experience and of those who have been living here for generations leads us to believe that the situation will calm down again but we must be cautious.’
The island, which was made famous in the 1950 film of the same name by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman, is part of the seven-island Eolian Archipelago just off Sicily in southern Italy.