Oh Crap, an American Guy Fell Into Mount Vesuvius

While hiking around Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano best known for destroying the Roman city of Pompeii, one has to imagine a single thought looms heavy in a hiker’s mind: Do not fall into Mount Vesuvius. And yet.

CNN reports a 23-year-old tourist from Baltimore, MD, fell into Mount Vesuvius. The man, whom NBC News identifies as Philip Carroll, was hiking along an unauthorized trail with two relatives in the time immediately preceding his fall. The trail was reportedly marked clearly with signs of “danger” and “forbidden access,” which we can only assume this man took as a dare. At the top of the 4,000-foot-high mountain, he stopped to take a selfie.

Of course, in the process of taking a selfie, he dropped his cell phone into Mount Vesuvius. While another might think, “Well, I shouldn’t attempt to go into Mount Vesuvius to get my cell phone,” this man has a mind unlike any we might routinely encounter. Indeed, he attempted to go into Mount Vesuvius to get his cell phone.

Paolo Cappelli, president of the Presidio Permanente Vesuvio base, told NBC News Carroll slipped "a few meters into the crater” while trying to recover the phone. Cappelli said he managed to stop his fall, but at that point was stuck and needed assistance. "He was very lucky," Cappelli said. "If he kept going, he would have plunged 300 meters into the crater."

Yes, he is very lucky that he did not. The man escaped with only scrapes and bruises. He was treated in an ambulance, and reportedly refused transport to a local hospital. Police have since taken him into custody, and he and his family members face charges for invading public land.

And that’s why you don’t fall into Mount Vesuvius.

In closing, I’d like to say:

Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh.

Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh. Eh-eh-oh, eh-oh.

(That was the song “Pompeii” by the band Bastille.)