USGSA Hawaii national park has issued a new warning to tourists after a toddler was grabbed “right on time” while falling from the edge of an erupting volcano.
The little boy left his family and ran “directly toward the 400-foot cliff” of Kilauea volcano “in a split second,” the park said.
“His screaming mother managed to grab him,” the park added in its statement, when the toddler was “just about a foot away from a fatal fall.”
Park ranger Jessica Ferracane, who witnessed the incident, told the BBC she hoped sharing details of the incident would help “prevent future tragedies”.
Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
It erupts regularly, and the most recent eruption began on December 23rd In the picture, lava flows to the surface.
The eruption is continuing at a low level within a closed area of the national park, said the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in its latest update on Saturday.
The park said the incident occurred on Christmas Day in a closed area of the park where families had gathered to watch the lava.
It was in an area overlooking the caldera – the volcano’s large crater – and the boy would not have survived the fall, Ms Ferracane said.
Park rangers said they wanted to remind visitors to stay on the trail, leave closed areas and keep their children nearby.
“Anyone who ignores warnings, walks past closure signs, loses sight of their loved ones and sneaks into closed areas to take a closer look is taking a big risk.”
Ms Ferracane added: “We hope that sharing the news will prevent future tragedies and near misses.”
