US man killed by lightning on Mount Etna

A US man died after being struck by lightning on Sicily's Mount Etna volcano, Italian firefighters said Monday.

The man was struck on Sunday and flown by firefighter helicopter to a hospital in Catania, where he was declared dead on arrival, a fire service spokesman said.

Italian media reported that he was a tourist from Texas in his 30s. The reports said he had been hiking in an off-limits area of the volcano when he was caught in a storm.

Mount Etna is 3,324 metres high and is Europe's tallest active volcano. It erupts frequently and has been spewing ash and lava for days, drawing visitors to see lava flows and disrupting nearby Catania airport.