Trapped on Kilauea

Kilauea is an active volcano on Hawaii. Was watching this docu on Discovery about how 3 men on a video shoot ended up in the crater when their helicopter crashed. It kept my 2 kids riveted to their seats, watching the reenactment of their ordeal in the crater. It was 1992. A helicopter on a video shoot crashed into the volcano crater, just meters away from a lava pool.

The great skill of the pilot enabled them to walk away from the crash unscathed. But what awaited them were noxious air, heat, cold, bad weather and maybe eruptions. Their radio was dead and they decided to climb their way up as the air was really bad. Plus 'up there' didn't seem too difficult as it was only 300 metres up. Even though the terrain was hostile; loose soil, pebbles that cut, rocks that are hot to touch, they managed the first 100 meters quite easily. Then they found the going tough cos the terrain got worse... with another 100 meters or so to go, it became a vertical climb which seemed virtually impossible. They were stuck.

The pilot decided that he should go back to the helicopter to try to get the radio to work. But it would be a dangerous trip as he would have to battle to breathe. He got down and managed to locate a video camera battery which would work with the radio. In between trying to fix it and repeated runs to a hillock nearby to get gasps of breathable air, he finally managed to crank it up and get his 'mayday' out.

A rescue helicopter soon came... he managed to communicate with the other pilot. Through his weakened voice, the other pilot knew he was talking to a dying man... so he took this bold decision. He would land his helicopter. The guy on the ground tried to shout to his friends to come down but they couldn't hear him... above the roar of everything, they couldn't hear him. The pilot told him that he had to run and hoist himself onto the helicopter... he couldn't risk getting down as the gasses would create havoc to his engines also and it would be a matter of time before it will also malfunction.

So, despite the danger, the pilot landed his helicopter... the downed pilot stumbled and pull himself up... the helicopter managed to get out.... it was the most terrifying 10 minutes of the pilot's life. The engine did suffer damage from the corrosive air.

One rescued, 2 stuck. Night came. Rescue efforts were called of as the weather up there was terrible and the edge of the crater was highly unstable. Morning came.. by afternoon ropes were thrown down the crater.. first one was too far. The second man couldn't get it. The rope came down again.. this time it was nearer but still too far for him. He tried to grab for it... but it slithered up. They must have pulled it up because they thought it was still too far from him. Then no more ropes came down. Night came. Despair set in.

Following day.. as dawn broke, suddenly the second man saw a path before him. He wondered why he hadn't seen it. The shifting ground from the eruptions must have opened up the path. He decided to make a dash for it. It was a short climb. As he was about to reach the top, another hurdle. The crater's edge had curved up. The soil was loose, he plunged his hands into the glass like pebbles and finally tumbled out of the crater... He shouted to his friend below. But he realized that his voice was going no where... it was impossible for his friend to hear him. He understood why the rescuers were not able to throw the ropes accurately. They were going blind. And the edge of the crater was highly unstable. The weather up there was bad. In his weakened state, he stumbled on the camp of the rescuers... no one was there. His throat has swollen so badly that he couldn't even drink. As he wondered aimlessly, a helicopter hovered by. He was rescued!

The third man stayed another night. That night, he thought he saw Madam Pele, the goddess of fire. He thought he was a goner. But he survived the night. Day came.... suddenly a helicopter came... the pilot told him he was coming back. Half an hour passed... suddenly a basket dropped. It was too far. Then it caught some rocks... and the basket pulled away. His hopes gone... But the basket came again... it was about 6 feet away. He decided to lunge for it. He made it...

3 men... each stayed a different duration of time. 3 different experiences. The lessons in it are many. To each one a lifeline was extended, and they live because they took that lifeline. And each lifeline, came with different degree of risks and difficulties.... my mind was a swirl of activities as I watched it and I am humbled yet again by those lessons which avail themselves through this documentary.

I tried to find more details in the net but reading them certainly did not have the same effect as watching it on tv.