• A 23-year-old American tourist fell into Mount Vesuvius’ crater while trying to reach his phone.
• He was rescued by local guides and helicopters, and treated for minor injuries.
• Faces invasion charges for being on a closed route near the volcano’s summit.

The young American dropped his phone into Mount Vesuvius crater. The man fell several metres while scrambling to reach the phone. The Guardian reports that local guides rappelled down to rescue the injured man. Mountain rescue helicopters also helped.

Vesuvius is a 1,232-m-tall stratovolcano. Its 1944 crater is 305 metres deep. Popular for hiking, the mountain’s crater has no public trails. Since 1944, the volcano hasn’t erupted significantly, but it’s closely monitored. More than 700,000 people in the immediate area would need to be evacuated, and millions more in Naples and its surroundings would be affected.

For now, Vesuvius’ “Gran Cono” is dangerous due to gravity, not imminent eruptions. The walls are made of steep cliffs and volcanic scree. Active vents occasionally burp steam and gas from the crater. According to The Guardian, the rescued tourist and his family took a closed and dangerous mountain route. All face invasion charges.

The man was lucky to escape with only minor injuries after trespassing near an active volcano. In 2019, a 32-year-old man fell 70 feet after climbing over a barrier around Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano crater (21 m). A 75-year-old Hawaiian man fell 100 feet into the same crater in January. In 2017, an 11-year-old boy fell into boiling mud at Solfatara Crater, near Vesuvius, and his parents tried to save him; all three died.

Vesuvius’ A.D. 79 eruption buried Herculaneum and Pompeii in ash. This eruption killed thousands with ash, rock, extreme heat, and toxic gas clouds.

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