Rome: At least one person has died after the volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli erupted, throwing ash high into the sky and enveloping the popular tourist destination in smoke.

Smoke billows from the volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli. Credit:AP

The victim was an excursionist who was on a path on the volcano with a friend, said Marco Giorgianni, mayor of the community of Lipari on the nearby island of the same name on Wednesday, according to the news agency Ansa.

Another person was said to have been injured

Rescue services say the eruption had started fires on the western side of the small Mediterranean island north of Sicily.