Man climbs down a 25-foot deep fissure to rescue a dog (Video)

Kawika Singson is renowned on the island for getting up close to volcanoes – normally to snap an incredible eruption photo. So when a dog went missing and was tracked, via its GPS collar, to a fissure into Kilauea volcano, on the island of Hilo, he was the first call to rescue the animal. Kawika Singson is no stranger to tight spaces and precarious situations. As a professional photographer and host of the series Everything Hawaii, he loves chasing down active volcanoes and capturing their dangerous beauty. 

‘I received a text about a dog that fell in a volcanic fissure deep in the tropical rain forest, so I made the 100-mile drive to try to help rescue the dog,’ he said after posting the footage. The location took some work to get to as it was around a mile and a half into the dense forest. The dog, named Malka, belongs to a teenage boy named only as Cody and had been trapped for two days before Singson arrived. Singson met Cody and other rescuers at the entrance to the volcanic vent. Without hesitation, the brave adventurer attaches his climbing gear and begins to descend into the dark crevice – risking sudden high temperatures and toxic gases. Footage from Singson’s headcam shows him repelling down for some time before reaching the whimpering dog, hiding in between several rock plates, who initially cowers away. 

He risked high temperatures and toxic gases

At the bottom of the 25-foot cave-like space, poor Malka comes into view. She is clearly nervous, cowering and licking her lips, but Singson calms her with a few gentle pats. The heroic adventurer secures the dog with a safety harness, hefts her into his arms, and begins the long, strenuous climb back up. Singson eventually heaves the dog out the vent first, before following him out. The dog was thankfully uninjured despite the 25 foot fall and two days without food or water. ‘Another happy ending,’ Singson tells the camera. ‘ We got Maka out of this hole,’ Watch the video, Kawika Singson captured the rescue mission in all its glory.