A 33-year-old Hawaii man is dead after sneaking into a restricted section of Kīlauea caldera at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, setting off an overnight search and rescue operation across steep, dangerous terrain.
National Park Service (NPS) personnel responded to the east side of the caldera. The volcano was not erupting at the time.
Rescue crews searched through the night and located the man the following day. Responders airlifted him from the area and transported him to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Park officials said his family was notified, and his name is being withheld pending privacy considerations.
The death has renewed warnings from officials about the risks of entering restricted areas, particularly as public interest in Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption activity continues to grow. The eruption began on December 23, 2024 and has drawn a surge of visitors to the park.
In December, two trespassers were caught on camera hiking dangerously close to an active eruption inside a restricted zone. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said at the time that no U.S. Geological Survey scientists or other authorized personnel were present in that closed area.
This is not the first time visitors have put themselves in danger at the park. Last June, a 30-year-old Boston man survived a 30-foot fall after leaving Byron Ledge Trail in an attempt to get closer to erupting lava. A tree broke his fall and likely prevented him from plunging another 100 feet to the caldera floor, according to the NPS.
During one eruption episode last June, lava fountains soared more than 1,000 feet into the air. The active eruption area remains closed due to serious hazards.
Kīlauea caldera features unstable cliff edges, hidden cracks, and other dangerous volcanic terrain. The NPS urges visitors to stay on marked trails and overlooks, avoid climbing over barriers, and comply with all warning and trespassing signs.
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