An American tourist died after being struck by lightning while hiking on Mount Etna, Sicily's active volcano, Italian firefighters announced Monday. The 29-year-old man, from Kansas, was found in an exposed, barren area known as Rocca Capra at approximately 1,400 meters (nearly 4,600 feet) on Sunday evening.
Rescuers reached the man by helicopter, but he was declared dead by medical personnel. His name has not been released.
Authorities had previously closed certain areas of the volcano's slopes to hikers due to its prolonged period of intense activity, which had also led to the temporary closure of the airport in nearby Catania for much of the previous week. It remains unclear if the man was in a restricted zone at the time of the incident.
Officials noted that in recent decades, more individuals have died on Mount Etna from lightning strikes than from volcanic activity itself. The last fatalities directly attributed to the volcano's eruptions occurred in 1987.