Every year, thousands of tourists flock to Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano to catch a glimpse of one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
But one tourist visiting the site last week got a bit closer to the action than he anticipated, after falling into the caldera. The unnamed man had climbed over a railing at the Steaming Bluff overlook to get a closer look at the volcano, before losing his footing and plummeting 21-metres into the caldera. Emergency services took 2.5 hours to locate the man, who was alive but seriously injured on a narrow ledge. Using a combination of ropes and rescue baskets, thankfully the team was able to successfully haul the man out of the caldera to safety. John Broward, Chief Ranger at the park, said: “Visitors should never cross safety barriers, especially around dangerous and destabilized cliff edges.“Crossing safety barriers and entering closed areas can result in serious injuries and death.”The incident comes almost two years after the last fall, back in October 2017 - which turned out to be fatal.
But one tourist visiting the site last week got a bit closer to the action than he anticipated, after falling into the caldera. The unnamed man had climbed over a railing at the Steaming Bluff overlook to get a closer look at the volcano, before losing his footing and plummeting 21-metres into the caldera. Emergency services took 2.5 hours to locate the man, who was alive but seriously injured on a narrow ledge. Using a combination of ropes and rescue baskets, thankfully the team was able to successfully haul the man out of the caldera to safety. John Broward, Chief Ranger at the park, said: “Visitors should never cross safety barriers, especially around dangerous and destabilized cliff edges.“Crossing safety barriers and entering closed areas can result in serious injuries and death.”The incident comes almost two years after the last fall, back in October 2017 - which turned out to be fatal.