Sawt Falasteen - Ill-prepared trekkers swarm Mt Etna for high-altitude selfies

The lava seeping from Sicily's most famous volcano, contrasting with gleaming white snow on the mountainside, has proven irresistible to tourists and others, some of whom have not respected the rules.

"The volcano is not the bad guy, in this case the bad guy is man," Fabio Mancuso, the mayor of the town of Adrano on Etna's southwestern side, told AFP.

The director of the Etna Observatory for Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology, Stefano Branca, agreed.

"This small eruption has made such a fuss for problems linked to public order, not, let's say, for volcanic reasons," he said.

"It was a really small, insignificant eruption," Branca told AFP.

Mancuso and neighbouring mayors at the foot of Etna issued ordinances earlier this week prohibiting people from approaching the lava too closely, but that hadn't stopped some, he said.

"Most people are following the ordinance, but unfortunately undisciplined ones exist," said Mancuso.

La Repubblica daily published a photo Friday of two well-built men posing bare-chested in the snow in front of the glowing lava.

Besides tourists taking selfies too close to the red-hot lava, or climbing without the appropriate gear for the elements and terrain, the main problem has been blocking roads.

Illegally parked cars have impeded emergency vehicles from passing on roads leading to Etna's summit, authorities say.

Etna's discharge of lava, which began flowing on February 8, is due to a so-called "effusive eruption", which differs from a more violent, explosive eruption.

"All eruptions are spectacular," said Branca, adding that the current phenomenon was longer-lasting.

"This one is different from others that last a few hours -- it's lasted so many days," he said.

"Then there's this contrast between the lava and the snow. So the spectacle lasted longer and there was more chance to go visit."

The phenomenon, however, was nearing its end, with the flow of already beginning to diminish, Branca cautioned.

That hasn't stopped officials from pulling out the stops for the weekend, with more police and volunteers on the roads to direct traffic and stop visitors without the right equipment from ascending Etna's slopes.

Mayor Mancuso said authorities were expecting a "massive presence of tourists."

"We hope they are well-equipped and at the same time with good sense to follow the rules."

L.Hussein--SF-PST