Miraculous Survival Of 23-Year-Old Tourist Who Fell Into Mount Vesuvius While Taking A Selfie

How lucky are you in this lifetime? If you ask this 23-year-old, he would surely say that he’s VERY lucky after surviving a fall into the volcano crater. Luckily, he survived the fall, but the incident will definitely give a new meaning to the phrase “do it for the gram.”

This American tourist was injured but miraculously alive near Naples, Italy, on the Mount Vesuvius crater. What made him fall? He was allegedly trying to take a selfie!

His name has not been released at this time…

In an interview with NBC News, Paolo Cappelli, the president of the Presidio Permanente Vesuvio, a base camp for guides located on the top of Mount Vesuvius explained that the unnamed tourist dropped his phone while taking the selfie. And while making an effort to retrieve the phone, he fell into the crater and got stuck there.

Paolo stated: “He tried to recover it, but slipped and slid a few meters into the crater. He managed to stop his fall, but at that point he was stuck.”

Thankfully, his injuries were nothing fatal. Just cuts and bruises.

He was lucky that the local guides spotted him with their binoculars and were able to rescue the tourist. They were able to get him out of the dangerous situation by pulling him to safety with a rope.

Paolo went on to say, “He was very lucky, if he kept going he would have plunged 300 meters into the crater.”

Reports say that the tourist and his other traveling companions were not supposed to be on the trail where he fell in the first place. A spokesperson from the Carabinieri of the Forestry department of the Park of Vesuvius believes that the tourists reached the summit of Mount Vesuvius at 1,281 meters probably after crossing a closed gate and disregarding several “no access” signs.

The representative told ABC News he believes the man traveled on the unmarked trail since tickets for visiting Vesuvius, which are limited to 2,700 a day, were all booked. He is believed to have entered the crater from the other side, where tourists are not allowed.

Then at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the park’s volcanological guides had seen a group of people in an area of the crater that was off limits to solo hikers. According to a Carabinieri spokeswoman, the guides saw the man trying to recover his cellphone so they immediately moved toward the spot and were able to save him. Additionally, the guides administered first assistance to the man’s leg, arm, and back wounds.

As it turned out, two other Americans, two Brit, and an Austrian were with the American.

Yes, he’s alive and safe, but that doesn’t mean that the authorities will just let him slip. This is probably where his luck runs out. He was taken into custody by the local Carabinieri police. It is still unknown whether or not he is facing any charges.

A representative of the Forestry Department Carabinieri told ABC News that the man might have fallen 300 meters if the guides weren’t able to stop him. He also said that there were barriers at the entrance to the crater on the side where tourists are allowed, but to where this man had entered, had none..