One climber was killed and another seriously injured while attempting to climb the off-limits volcano Popocatépetl, the fifth-highest summit in North America. The active volcano erupted on June 22, and according to official reports, a group of four climbers and their guide had started up the mountain that same afternoon.

The group radioed police on the evening of June 22 to say they were at the top of the volcano and that two members of their group had been injured. A search and rescue mission was launched, but efforts were complicated by inclement weather and overnight snow. When rescuers reached the group, they found one woman dead and another person in critical condition. The remaining members of the group were not injured.

It is believed the group was showered with volcanic rocks and debris. Mexico’s volunteer Mountain Rescue and Assistance Brigade said the climbers fell into a gully in an area called Las Cruces, about 1,000 feet from the volcano’s crater. The deceased clamber was identified as a 22-year-old female resident of the nearby town of Ozumba.

ANALYSIS

Popocatépetl is an active stratovolcano that has been belching toxic fumes, ash, and lumps of incandescent rock persistently for almost 30 years. Mexican civil defense authorities have strictly prohibited climbers from going within 7.5 miles of the peak since eruptions restarted in 1994.

The Mountain Rescue and Assistance Brigade posted a notice on social media channels reading: “She shouldn’t have died. Don’t put your life or those of others at risk. The Popocatépetl volcano is closed.” Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center echoed this warning, calling on people “not to go near the volcano, especially the crater, due to the risk of falling ballistic fragments.” (Sources: Cbsnews.com and the Brigada de Rescate del Socorro Alpino de México A.C.)