Hawaiian adventurer Kawiki 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. So when he heard about Malka, a little dog from the island of Hilo who had fallen into a live fissure of the Kilauea volcano, he sped to the scene with his Go-Pro at the ready.
Malka had been missing for two days. Luckily, her collar is equipped with a GPS device that allows her owner to track her location.
“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,” Singson explained on his YouTube channel after the incident.
The video begins with Singson driving to the location as he explains the situation via dashcam. Once there, he meets up with Malka’s teenage owner Cody and other rescuers. They beat their way through the overgrowth with machetes, arriving at a narrow hole in the ground. Without hesitation, the brave adventurer attaches his climbing gear and begins to descend into the dark crevice.
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.
While the rescue went smoothly, Singson took a serious risk to his own safety. Active volcanic fissures such as this one are prone to sudden high temperatures and toxic gases. Despite these factors, the 25-foot fall, and two days without food or water, Malka was miraculously unharmed.
“Another happy ending,” Singson announced after being pulled from the fissure. “We got Malka out of this hole.”
Check out the heartwarming rescue in the video below.
The Kilauea Volcano is the youngest and most active in Hawaii. It has been constantly erupting since 1983 and shows no signs of stopping. Singson previously photographed Kilauea erupting in 2015. His footage shows glowing orange lava flowing into the ocean and was captured somewhere between Waikupanaha and the Hawaii Volcano National Park off the coast of the Big Island.
Now he can add Dog Rescuer to his list of accomplishments. I think this is his greatest achievement to date!
H/T to Daily Mail
Featured Screenshot via Instagram