A 75-year-old man fell 100 feet below the crater rim of the closed site of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano.
The National Park Service said in a statement: “A 75-year-old Hilo man died after falling from a closed area within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park late Sunday night.”
According to the National Park Service, family members reported the man from Hilo, Hawaii missing in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at 12:15 am.
Tourists and locals visit the park at night to get a glimpse of a glowing lava lake from an eruption of the volcano. The area is open to visitors, but officials encourage hikers to stay on marked trails.
Footage of the volcano’s Halemaumau Crater posted on the US Geological Survey website shows lava streams on the crater floor and clouds of volcanic gas billowing skyward.
When the volcano erupted a few weeks ago, it spewed about 26,000 gallons of lava a second, KGMB-TV reported at the time.
County firefighters and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers searched in the dark for the man and they eventually found his body below the crater rim of a viewing area of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.
With the assistance of a helicopter, park rangers recovered his body around 8 am that day. Authorities have yet to release the identity of the man, pending further notification from the family.
In a statement, the National Park Service said: “After searching for the man in the darkness, National Park Service rangers and Hawaii County firefighters located the man’s body about 100 feet below the crater rim, west of the Uekahuna viewing area at the summit of Kilauea volcano.”
An investigation into the man’s death has now been launched by the National Park Service.
Jessica Ferracane, Park spokesperson, said the site where the man was found is closed to the public, and that there are multiple barriers and signs warning people not to enter. She said the specific place where he appears to have fallen is about 200 feet beyond those warning signs. Ferracane told West Hawaii Today: “He knew he was in a closed area.”
By coincidence, a significant earthquake was recorded near Kilauea on the same day. The US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude of 4.3 earthquake.
According to Ken Hon, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory expert, the earthquake had no significant impact on the Kīlauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes. Hon said: “This earthquake is part of the ongoing seismic swarm under the Pāhala area, which started in August 2019. Webcams and other data streams show no impact on the ongoing eruption at Kīlauea”.
“Please be aware that aftershocks are possible and may be felt. HVO continues to monitor Hawaiian volcanoes for any changes. The Alert Levels/Color Codes remain at WATCH/ORANGE for Kīlauea and ADVISORY/YELLOW for Mauna Loa at this time,” he added.
Kīlauea began erupting again on September 29, 2021, according to the United States Geological Survey service. Lava continues to erupt from a single vent in the western wall of the Halemaumau crater. The USGS said that the volcano is currently “exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption”.
The eruption has caused a number of “significant hazards” to the local area, such as high levels of volcanic gas, which creates airborne health risks. Other hazards also include volcanic glass fragments and rockfalls.
The tragic incident is not the first time someone has fallen into the crater. In 2019, a 32-year-old man fell 70 feet into Kilauea after stepping over the railing. Rangers and the Fire department were able to rescue him after three hours, and he was taken to a hospital to treat his severe injuries.
And in 2017, a 38-year-old man died at Kilauea volcano in an apparent suicide. His body was found on the caldera floor about 250 feet below Crater Rim Trail.
Kilauea’s eruption in 2018 was by far the most destructive in modern history, it has spewed lava into the lower Puna district and destroyed several communities.
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