An American tourist was killed by lightning on Sicily’s Mount Etna while hiking in an area closed to visitors due to recent volcanic activity, Italian firefighters said Monday. The 29-year-old Kansas man was rescued by helicopter after being struck Sunday night in an exposed area above the tree line. He was later pronounced dead by medical personnel. His name was not revealed. Authorities have closed vast areas of the volcano’s slope to hikers due to the volcano’s prolonged activity, which forced the closure of the airport in nearby Catania for most of the previous week. Officials said more people had died on Etna in recent decades from lightning than from volcanic activity. The last deaths related to an eruption at Europe’s most active volcano were in 1987.
