00:00So, a human being can survive the unimaginable sometimes, like 140 degree Fahrenheit temperature
00:07for brief periods of time.
00:09And, you'd be surprised, even falling into a volcano.
00:13Oops.
00:14Then you can ask, what the heck were they thinking?
00:17Not so much, apparently.
00:19Some years ago, there was an eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea.
00:22The volcano had been active for almost 35 years in a row.
00:26And this eruption could symbolize that the active days were finally over.
00:31However, it doesn't mean it's all clear and safe now.
00:34In fact, it's quite the opposite.
00:37The caldura, that bowl-shaped depression at the summit, is still unstable.
00:42After months of deflating, as magma was pulled away to the volcano's sides,
00:47hanging around the rim isn't the best idea.
00:50But even a metal guardrail couldn't keep one overly curious visitor
00:54from taking a risky leap to look over the edge.
00:58Recently, a 32-year-old man was attempting to peer over the caldura when he lost his footing.
01:05He ended up falling about 70 feet into the pit and sustained serious injuries.
01:10Fortunately, he didn't land in any lava.
01:13The caldura has been devoid of it for some time now,
01:15as all the lava in the Halema'uma'u crater drained away months ago.
01:20This time, it was just gravity and sharp rocks that caused the trouble.
01:24According to a statement from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park staff,
01:29it was a soldier who was on the island for a training exercise
01:32and is now recovering in the hospital.
01:35Rescuers had to rappel down into the caldura to bring him back up.
01:40But this isn't the first time someone has fallen into Kilauea's craters.
01:44In October 2017, a person passed away after tumbling into the pit,
01:49which was much shallower back then.
01:51Given that history, this other soldier was incredibly lucky to escape with his life.
01:58There's one more curious volcano, Odoniolingai in Tanzania.
02:03It's located over the East African Rift,
02:06where the continent is slowly being pulled apart by a rising plume of superheated mantle material.
02:12Eventually, a new ocean will form there.
02:14But for now, unique geochemistry means some pretty odd volcanology,
02:19especially at Odoniolingai.
02:22The lava here never exceeds 950 degrees Fahrenheit,
02:26which is significantly cooler than the stuff that usually erupts from Kilauea.
02:30This is due to the unusual chemistry of the rocks that create its magma,
02:35which is high in calcium and sodium.
02:37The sodium-rich mix makes this lava a natrocarbonatite,
02:42lacking the silica chains that give regular magma its viscosity.
02:46This results in very cold and superfluid lava
02:49that erupts in a jet-black stream and weathers to a ghostly wind.
02:54While that's fascinating on its own,
02:57I mention it because someone fell into this strange cold lava back in 2007,
03:02which might be an even scarier scenario than what just happened at Kilauea.
03:06Falling into lava is obviously a bad idea for many reasons.
03:10But this incident had an unexpected twist.
03:14The guy who fell there, a local Maasai porter,
03:17slipped into an active lava flow and got severely burned but survived.
03:22Now, you may be thinking,
03:24maybe I shouldn't climb into a volcano for a better view.
03:27Well, duh.
03:29Most people who fall into active volcanoes, as you can imagine,
03:32don't come out unscathed if they make it out at all.
03:37When we think of volcanoes in general,
03:39I suspect that one of the first ones that pops into your noggin is Vesuvius.
03:45And I bet you won't be shocked when you learn that,
03:47yup, someone did fall there too.
03:50A 23-year-old guy from Maryland had quite an adventure
03:54when he fell into the crater of Mount Vesuvius in Italy
03:57while snapping a selfie.
04:00The man, Philip Carroll, was exploring the iconic volcano,
04:03famous for burying the Roman city of Pompeii under ash in 79 CE.
04:09He was there with two family members.
04:11Local authorities were confused about what had happened,
04:14but they later explained that the family
04:16had taken a restricted trail to reach the summit.
04:19They hiked up from the town of Ottaviano,
04:23but ended up on a path that was off-limits to tourists,
04:27ignoring a small gate and clear no-access signs.
04:31First mistake.
04:32Once they reached the top of the volcano,
04:34which stands over 4,000 feet tall,
04:37Carroll decided to take a selfie.
04:39Big mistake.
04:41Oops!
04:41He dropped his phone into the crater.
04:44While trying to retrieve it,
04:45he fell and slid down a few meters into the crater.
04:48He managed to halt his fault,
04:50but he was stuck at that point.
04:52The situation could have been worse.
04:54Philip was incredibly lucky.
04:56If he had kept sliding,
04:58he would have dropped almost 1,000 feet into the crater.
05:01Nearly took himself out of the gene pool over a selfie.
05:05Now, for some context,
05:07Vesuvius' cone-shaped crater
05:08is about 1,000 feet deep and 1,500 feet wide.
05:13Philip ended up with some cuts and scrapes
05:15on his arms and back from the fall.
05:17Luckily, local guides spotted him with binoculars
05:20from the other side of the rim
05:22and rushed to his aid,
05:23using a long rope to pull him back to safety.
05:26A video posted on Instagram by Carroll's brother
05:30shows the breathtaking view from the volcano's peak,
05:33with someone in the background exclaiming,
05:35Hey, we hiked to the top of a literal volcano!
05:38After the incident,
05:40Carroll was taken into custody by the Carabiniere,
05:43one of the police divisions in Italy,
05:45and he had some time to consider his behavior.
05:50Now, Mount St. Helens is one of the most well-known volcanoes in the U.S.,
05:55if not the entire globe,
05:56especially since its big eruption back in 1980.
06:00Fast forward to 2008.
06:02A 52-year-old guy from Oregon named John Slimp
06:05decided to hit the snowy trails near the volcano
06:08with his son and a friend.
06:10They were enjoying some snowmobiling fun
06:13when they thought it would be a great idea
06:15to hike up to the crater's rim.
06:17But what started as a fun day
06:19quickly turned into a real-life horror story.
06:22John, wait for it,
06:24fell into the volcano.
06:26Yep, he plunged about 1,500 feet,
06:29but surprisingly managed to survive.
06:32His fall was cushioned by a snowbank
06:34after about 150 feet.
06:36But that bank gave way,
06:38and he slid the rest of the way down.
06:40Emergency services were called,
06:42and a helicopter team had to come to his rescue.
06:45Fortunately for him,
06:47medical technicians were on the scene within hours
06:49and were able to save John's life.
06:53Meanwhile, another tourist,
06:55this time from Ireland,
06:56had a lucky break
06:57after plummeting 650 feet
06:59down an Indonesian volcano,
07:01coming away with just a few minor scrapes.
07:05His name is Paul Farrell,
07:07and he was 31 when it happened.
07:09He was hiking solo on Mount Rinjani
07:11in West Noosa-Tangara
07:13when he lost his footing
07:15and tumbled down a steep trail,
07:17reportedly rolling off a cliff.
07:19Mount Rinjani,
07:20standing at 12,224 feet,
07:23is an active volcano on Lombok Island
07:26and draws hikers eager to see
07:28its breathtaking crater lake,
07:30Segura Anak.
07:31Amazingly,
07:32Paul only ended up with some cuts
07:34on his face, arm, and legs,
07:36according to local news sources.
07:38He even managed to reach out
07:39to a local resort for help,
07:41which alerted police early that morning.
07:44Ironically,
07:45a rescue team was already on the scene,
07:47tending to the body of another hiker
07:49who had fallen into a nearby ravine.
07:52Despite some communication challenges
07:54due to poor reception in the remote area,
07:56the team managed to find Paul
07:58relatively quickly,
07:59given the circumstances.
08:01Locals explained that Paul had slipped
08:03because the ground was sandy.
08:06Yes, blame it on the sand.
08:08Now, you probably noticed
08:09that cases of falling down a volcano
08:11aren't that rare, huh?
08:13Not everyone survives such falls.
08:15Most hikers, well, pass away.
08:18Back in March 2010,
08:19a Swedish tourist
08:20had a wild and unfortunate mishap
08:23at Mount Batur
08:24in Bali, Indonesia.
08:26He was hiking up to the rim
08:27of the active volcano
08:29just before sunrise,
08:30hoping to soak in the breathtaking view
08:32when, out of nowhere,
08:34he accidentally slipped and fell in.
08:37Whoopsies!
08:38Instead of enjoying a stunning sunrise,
08:40this unfortunate backpacker
08:42found himself plummeting
08:43about 500 feet
08:45to his last destination.
08:47He wasn't alone.
08:48He had three friends with him.
08:50A serene, early-morning trek
08:52that took a tragic twist.
08:54Interestingly,
08:55the authorities
08:55actually considered the trail
08:57he was on to be quite safe,
08:59making this incident
09:00all the more heartbreaking
09:02and unexpected.
09:03Well, you be the judge.
09:06That's it for today.
09:07So hey,
09:07if you pacified your curiosity,
09:09then give the video a like
09:11and share it with your friends.
09:12Or if you want more,
09:13just click on these videos
09:14and stay on the bright side!
Comments