Dylan Standfast, the 29-year-old Kansas man that lost his life to a lightning strike on Mount Etna. | Photo Credit: Dylan Standfast Memorial Facebook Page/Eric Phillips.
A 29-year-old Kansas man was recently exploring one of Italy’s most active volcanoes when tragedy struck. Dylan Standfast was a computer engineering graduate from Wichita State University and a passionate traveler. He was climbing Mount Etna, one of the tallest stratovolcanoes in all of Europe. Mount Etna also happens to be Europe’s most active volcano, with regular eruptions occasionally causing issues in nearby cities and towns. With the location of the incident being an extremely active volcano, one would assume the incident would involve lava, ash, or debris. Tragically, for the American tourist, a different form of natural hazard took his life high on the slopes of Etna.
Standfast was found at about 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) in the Rocca Capra area. He was discovered in an exposed, rocky area with very little cover. He had suffered life-threatening injuries due to a lightning strike, a known hazard in the region. Standfast was retrieved via helicopter around 8 p.m. and was said to be in cardiac arrest. Despite the rescue team’s best efforts to resuscitate, he was later pronounced dead by medical personnel. The tragedy comes in the wake of a period of extreme volcanic activity on the mountain.
Mount Etna Erupting over Catania. | Photo Credit: AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra
Earlier in the month, local firefighters closed off sections of the mountain due to increased volcanic activity. It remains unclear if the Kansas man was found in the closed-off portion of the volcano. Recent volcanic activity has also resulted in the closure of the nearby Catania–Fontanarossa Airport for nearly a week, and delays are still intermittent. While volcanic activity poses a significant threat on Mount Etna, the last confirmed volcanic fatality was in 1987.
Lightning striking an active volcano. | Photo Credit: Marc Szeglat/Unsplash
Lightning-related fatalities are actually far more common on Mount Etna than volcanic fatalities. This is due to the exposed, rocky terrain and sheer height of the stratovolcano. While Mount Etna’s storm activity is more of a hazard to those on the mountain, its volcanic activity threatens over a million people in the surrounding areas.
While the passing of Standfast is truly tragic, his local community has poured out love and support for him and his family. From 2020 to 2022, Standfast worked as a community activity coordinator at St. Paul University Parish at Wichita State University. The Catholic Diocese of Wichita said in a statement: “Pray for Dylan’s soul and for the [Standfast] family who have been great friends of St. Paul.” Standfast will be remembered and loved by all who were lucky to know him.
Mount Etna will continue to be monitored by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and the Sistema Italiano Rilevamento Fulmini for further volcanic and storm related activity.
Dylan Standfast will be deeply missed by all those he knew. | Photo Credit: Dylan Standfast Facebook