A quake triggered by Mount Etna has jolted eastern Sicily, injuring 10 people and prompting frightened Italian villagers to flee their homes.
Italy's Civil Protection officials said the quake on Wednesday was part of a series of some 1,000 tremors, most of them barely perceptible, that are linked to Etna's ongoing eruption.
The 4.8 magnitude earthquake at around 3.19am damaged rural homes, including structures that had been abandoned years ago.
It also toppled a statue in a church in the town of Santa Venerina and opened up cracks on a road, which was closed for inspection.
The Italian news agency ANSA said an 80-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of a house.
Government undersecretary Vito Crimi said there were no deaths and 10 people were injured.
Before dawn on Christmas Day, fiery red flaming lava shooting out from Mount Etna could be seen against the darkness of the night sky.
At least 130 tremors rattled villages on the slopes of the volcanic mountain earlier this week, with the most powerful of the earlier quakes registering a magnitude of 4.3 on Monday.
The volcano's seismological observatory says a new fissure has opened on a stretch of uninhabited slope near Mount Etna's south east crater.
On Monday, hikers on Etna were brought down from the higher elevations for their safety, however, officials did not order the evacuations of nearby villages.
Volcanic ash was also seen on some cars and streets near the mountain.
Etna, located on the Mediterranean island of Sicily, is one of three active volcanoes in Italy.
It has been particularly active since July.
