Italian firefighters and the army on Sunday tackled a wildfire on the flanks of Mount Vesuvius , with all hiking routes up the volcano near Naples closed to tourists.

The national fire service said it had 12 teams on the ground and six Canadair planes fighting the blaze, which has torn through the national park in southern Italy since Friday. The park where a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 A.D. is a major tourist destination.

"The fire-fighting continues ceaselessly on three fronts", the Campania Region said in a statement.

Authorities said the fires are largely on the slopes of the Mount Somma side of Vesuvius, which is characterized by its dense vegetation.

A tourist looks at the smoke of a big fire on Vesuvius Volcano appearing like an erup

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