CLOSE CALL

Tourist Falls 70 Feet Into Hawaii Volcano Crater

The man had reportedly crossed a protective barrier to get a closer look when he lost his footing.

A tourist who crossed the barrier surrounding Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano slipped and fell 70 feet into the volcano’s crater, CNN reports. Authorities at Hawaii’s Volcano National Park said they got a call Wednesday night from a member of the man’s group, saying he had lost his footing and fallen in to the caldera. “He had crossed over a metal railing to get closer to the cliff edge where he lost his footing and fell in,” a spokesman for the National Park Service told CNN. “Park officials immediately launched a search and rescue operation with the Hawaii County Fire Department and around 9 p.m. local time search and rescue located the man. He was seriously injured, perched on a narrow ledge 70 feet from the cliff edge.” Officials used a rope system to rescue the tourist, which took about an hour. He is now being treated at a hospital. It’s not yet clear if he’ll face charges for crossing the protective barrier, but the spokesman said “rangers will complete an investigation and make that determination after the investigation is over.”

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