Tourist Falls Off Cliff While Trying for Close-Up View of Volcano Eruption and Survives

A 30-year-old Boston man got a little too close to the edge—literally—while trying to catch a better view of Hawaii’s erupting Kīlauea Volcano. His brush with death ended in a miraculous save by none other than a tree.

The tourist was exploring the Byron Ledge Trail in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park around 9 p.m. on June 11, hoping for a front-row seat to the volcano’s dramatic 25th eruption since December. But in the darkness—and without a flashlight or headlamp—he wandered too far and plunged 30 feet off a cliff, according to the National Park Service.

The fall could have been deadly. In fact, he was just inches away from a much longer, potentially fatal drop of another 100 feet. But fate intervened when a tree broke his fall, halting his descent and possibly saving his life.

Rescue teams who were already stationed nearby to help with crowd control during the eruption quickly sprang into action. They discovered the man hanging 30 feet below, shaken but still alive. He was treated for minor facial injuries and didn’t require hospitalization.

As he waited for help, Kīlauea was blasting lava over 300 feet into the sky, lighting up the night with a show that was hard to miss—even for someone stuck in a tree.

This isn’t the first time a thrill-seeking tourist in Hawaii has defied death. Just last year, another visitor drove off a 60-foot cliff while trying to catch the perfect sunrise. His car plunged straight into the ocean, but somehow, he too walked away with only minor injuries and a serious case of hypothermia.