Man found dead after apparently falling 100 feet in closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
The body of a man was found after he apparently fell from a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park late Sunday night on Hawaii's Big Island, authorities said. The National Park Service says family members reported the 75-year-old Hilo man missing from in the park early Monday.
Rangers and firefighters searched for him in the dark and then found his body 100 feet below the crater rim of a viewing area of Kilauea volcano.
A helicopter was needed to help retrieve his body. The park service says an investigation is underway.
People have been visiting the park at night to get a glimpse of a glowing lava lake from an eruption of the volcano.
The volcano began erupting in September. Webcam footage of the volcano's Halemaumau Crater showed lava fountains covering the floor of the crater and billowing clouds of volcanic gas rising into the air. The same area has been home to a large lava lake at various times throughout the volcano's eruptive past.
In September, CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV said the eruption was "creating fountains that were up to 100 feet tall and thick plumes of smoke ― and flooding the floor of Halemaumau Crater."
