An American tourist walked into a crater of Mount Vesuvius to avoid losing his phone. Italian police explained the incident to CNN on Monday.
A 23-year-old man from Baltimore broke the rules and was hiking an unauthorized trail with three relatives on Saturday morning, police said. Two British tourists were also spotted walking on the forbidden trail, but following their fall, both reported only a few bruises on their hands, arms and backs. They were treated by an ambulance that arrived at the scene, but neither wanted to go to the hospital.
The directions to and via the footpath revealed noticeable danger indications and forbidden access based upon the force level, which led the prosecutor to decide whether to demand a formal charge for the person on account of intrusion into public territory.
The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius took place in 1944. It is still active, but is in a state of repose, according to the Vesuvius National Park website. The mountain’s highest peak reaches 1,277 meters (4,190 feet), while the crater has a diameter of 450 meters (1,476 feet) and is 300 meters (984 feet) deep, the national park’s website adds. In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried cities like Pompeii and Stabiae beneath ash.
