UPDATED: San Rafael 15-Year-Old Survives 25-Foot Fall into Hawaii Volcano Park Steam Vent

A San Rafael boy suffered a bump on his head and minor abrasions after falling into a 25-foot steam vent at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

Park officials, who are describing the boy as “extraordinarily lucky” to be alive, said the 15-year-old tried to jump over a protective railing Wednesday night and fell into a “deep, narrow, chimney-like crack."

Steam vents are created by ground water that seeps onto hot volcanic rocks.

The boy was trying to perform an urban gymnastics stunt, according to the Hawaii Tribune Herald, and attempted to execute a move off the protective railing surrounding the steam vent.

John Broward, the park’s search and rescue coordinator, told the Herald the “teen apparently did not realize that below a thick layer of green ferns just inside the railing was a 6-foot-wide hole.”

“With the ferns (there), he probably thought he wouldn’t fall,” said Broward. “He just jumped over the railing into the hole and found it wasn’t solid…”

The boy appeared to have broken part of his fall by grabbing onto the edges of the vent and landed on a ledge that inhibited his communication with his mother and rescuers, the Herald reported. His mother called 911 at 6:43 p.m. on Wednesday. 

Rescuers described the fern-covered hole as a “big chimney” that was rocky, muddy, moist and damp.

The temperature at the boy’s landing point was estimated to be 80 to 90 degree, lower than the normal 120 degrees measured at the top of the vent. A vent can reach up to 160 degrees at a four-foot depth. 

The boy's family declined further medical treatment and he was released at the scene following assessment by County of Hawai'i responders, according to park officials.

"This young visitor and his family are extraordinarily lucky that he survived this mishap," Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said in a release. 

This is the seventh search and rescue mission conducted by park staff so far this year. Last year, park search and rescue crews responded to a total of 26 incidents.

"This incident serves as a reminder that park visitors are urged to stay on trails and not engage in reckless behavior while visiting their national parks," Orlando said. 

A woman died after slipping into a different steam vent in the park in February 1992, according to Bigislandnow.com.

The 34-year-old Colorado woman had reportedly slid 10 feet down into the vent with a 25-year-old man from Washington. The man climbed out but the women fell another 10 feet down and became trapped. Park Rangers couldn’t reach the woman because of “scalding heat.”  

In July 2011, San Anselmo resident David Potts died after he fell into a blowhole in Maui while vacationing with family and friends.

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