‘He was very lucky. If he kept going, he would have plunged 300 meters into the crater’
The “very lucky” rebellious tourist who ignored “no access” signs and subsequently fell into Mount Vesuvius has revealed his injuries – and they look painful.
American tourist Philip Carroll, 23, was holidaying in Naples, Italy, when he decided to take a trip up the active volcano, Mount Vesuvius. Instead of journeying up with a guide, Carroll and two family members ignored forbidden entry signs and ventured up alone.
“We hiked to the top of a literal f—— volcano!” Carroll’s brother wrote on Instagram.
While attempting to take a selfie, the man dropped his phone and attempted to pick it back up, falling into the hot crater in the process. Guides on an official route had to abseil in to rescue him with the assistance of a rescue helicopter.
Carroll was “very lucky”, according to the president of the Presidio Permanente Vesuvio, Paolo Cappelli. Speaking to NBC, he said: “This family took another trail, closed to tourists, even if there was a small gate and ‘no access’ signs.
“He was very lucky. If he kept going, he would have plunged 300 meters into the crater.”
Images shared by Guide Vulcanologiche Vesuvio show Carroll’s extensive injuries, including one heavily grazed back, two bloody elbows and a series of abrasions.
The man and his family members were taken into custody by Carabinieri police, where they could face charges of invading public land.
Vesuvius’ most famous eruption occurred in 79AD, killing 2,000 people initially and 16,000 in total in the ancient city of Pompeii.
According to National Geographic, violent pyroclastic currents decimated Pompeii and nearby areas like the town of Herculaneum. Researchers believe that extreme heat and pressure caused people’s heads to literally explode as the liquids in their heads boiled.
Most of the damage was caused by a pyroclastic flow, a mixture of ash, lava blobs and noxious gases that can travel up to 50mph and burn as hot as 1300F.
Such phenomena pose numerous ways of violently dying, including inhaling poisonous gas, smushed by flying debris, or being instantly incinerated by the heat.
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