The body of a 75-year-old man was recovered Monday morning in a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement that the man was reported missing at around 12:15 a.m. Monday by his family. Park rangers and Hawaii County firefighters found his body roughly 100 feet below the crater rim of a viewing area at the top of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. (RELATED: Hawaiian Officials Cite Dozens of Tourists Climbing Active Volcano For Selfies)
Park rangers used a helicopter to help recover the elderly man’s body at around 8:00 a.m. Monday, according to the NPS statement.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Official identification of the man will occur after further notification of the family, according to NPS’s statement.
Kilauea has experienced several eruptions and pauses in the past month, Big Island Video News reported. Visitors have been coming to the park at night to see lava from the various eruptions, according to the Associated Press.
Eruption update: Lake activity has decreased significantly and may be entering a pause. Visit the eruption webpage for the latest updates and tools to help plan your visit: https://t.co/PSO35qYtVp
USGS webcam image taken on December 13. pic.twitter.com/8iwfnHwEDs
— Hawaii Volcanoes NPS (@Volcanoes_NPS) December 13, 2021
A 2018 report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey gave Kilauea the highest overall threat score of U.S. volcanoes.
Lava was erupting from Kilauea on Sunday morning, but the volcano is allegedly entering another pause, according to Big Island Video News. (RELATED: Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea Erupts, Putting Thousands At Risk)
Chief Ranger John Broward issued a warning to the public in 2019 after a 32-year-old man was injured falling from a 300-foot cliff while trying to view the volcano, NPR reported.
“Visitors should never cross safety barriers, especially around dangerous and destabilized cliff edges,” he said, according to The New York Times. “Crossing safety barriers and entering closed areas can result in serious injuries and death.”