photo courtesy National Park Service.

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK – A 54 year old female who fell while hiking across the floor of the Kilauea Iki Crater was airlifted out by helicopter on Sunday afternoon.

The woman, who was hiking with her daughter in the crater, “wandered 50 feet off the trail and lost her balance on some rocks” says the Hawaii County Fire Department. The woman fell backwards, striking her head and back on some rocks, receiving multiple injuries to both arms and legs. The fire department responded to the 1:50 p.m. alarm, dispatching Chopper 1 to extricate the patient.

The woman was first treated by National Park Rangers, the county reports, before she was transported to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition via Medic 1.

The fire department says Kilauea Iki is a 4 mile looped trail that crosses the floor of a cooled lava lake. There are many steam vents and numerous other geological features. In 1959, a volcanic vent at Kilauea Iki erupted lava into the air to a height of 1,900 feet. The National Park Service warns the difficulty level of hiking Kialuea Iki is “moderate to challenging”.