Selfie-taking tourist plunges into Mount Vesuvius crater in Italy trying to get phone

A U.S. tourist taking selfies on Mount Vesuvius in Italy tumbled into the active volcano’s crater trying to retrieve his phone, Italian authorities told news outlets.

The 23-year-old man from Baltimore, Maryland, suffered only scratches and cuts after managing to stop himself before plunging 300 feet to the crater’s bottom, authorities told NBC News. He could not get out of the crater and had to be rescued.

He was hiking with his family Saturday, July 9, on a closed trail, officials told CNN.

The volcano, which destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, last erupted in 1944.