Officials Alarmed as Tourists Walk Straight Toward Erupting Volcano Hoping for Awesome Selfies

A shot at glory. Common sense would dictate you go in the opposite direction of an actively erupting volcano. But the prospect of getting a cool selfie for the 'gram possesses its own powerful gravity, as flabbergasted Italian authorities are discovering. The occasion is the most recent eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna, which blew its top earlier this month. Since then, the volcano, which erupts almost every year, has been oozing lava down onto its snowy slopes, attracting thousands of tourists, including hikers, skiers, and all kinds of outdoors types and sundry, the New York Times reports. "Etna is giving us a breathtaking spectacle: A lava flow has reached our territory," Mayor of Adrano Fabio Mancuso told residents this week, as quoted by the NYT. "A lot of people are trying to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it is extremely dangerous!" An active volcano wasn't enough to deter a team of professional skiers who took to the slopes on Mt. Etna, where snow met lava ... Read full article.