Tourist Suffers Critical Injuries After Bypassing Safety Rail And Falling Into Active Volcano

It's a literal nightmare—falling over the guardrails in any location and dropping down.

A man in Hawaii lived all of our worst fears this past Wednesday—and lived to tell the tale.

A 32-year-old US soldier climbed over a guardrail and fell 70 feet onto a ledge, just barely avoiding the crater of Mt. Kilauea.

Yes, THIS Mt. Kilauea:

Apparently the man was part of a group who were touring the Steaming Bluff overlook at about 6:30 pm.

At 9pm, "the man was found alive but seriously injured on a narrow ledge about 70 feet down from the cliff edge," said officials in a statement.

"Rescue personnel successfully completed a high angle extrication using ropes and stokes litter and, with support from a Department of Defense helicopter, the man was airlifted to Hilo Medical Center for urgent care."

He is currently in stable condition.

This man is very lucky to be alive and to not have fallen into the crater.

The 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 600 homes and was the most destructive eruption since Mt. Saint Helen in Washington State erupted.

So indeed, perhaps climbing over the guardrails at an active volcano was not the smartest move.

Take heed on your next trip.