On Sunday, 8 November 2026, rescue teams carried out a training exercise inside the crater of Vesuvius, simulating the recovery of an injured volcanologist.
The operation was conducted by the 34th Delegation of the Alpine and Speleological Rescue Service of Campania. According to the Vesuvius National Park Authority, the drill allowed the teams to practise recovery procedures in a complex setting and to strengthen response capacity for visitors, workers and researchers present in the crater area.
The president of the Vesuvius National Park Authority, Raffaele De Luca, followed the activities and thanked the rescue personnel involved.
Why the crater requires dedicated rescue training
The crater is both a protected natural area and a managed visitor site. Training there gives rescue teams direct experience of the operating conditions where an intervention might be required, rather than practising in a different terrain.
The Park Authority presents the exercise as part of its attention to safety within the protected area, with benefits extending beyond visitors to the people who work and conduct research in the crater zone.
No further operational details were provided in the sources consulted. The available reports do not indicate the time, duration, total number of participants or technical equipment used, nor whether the drill led to changes in existing rescue procedures.
Visiting context: Trail No. 5 "Il Gran Cono"
Access to the crater takes place through Trail No. 5, "Il Gran Cono". A protocol dated 29 June 2026 governs access, organisation and management of visits to the crater, including provisions for safety, groups and the Presidio Permanente Vulcano Vesuvio.
Under that framework, visits are subject to defined access arrangements, time slots, a maximum number of visitors and rules of conduct. The upper trail along the summit of the crater remains closed for safety and environmental protection reasons, unless authorised by the Park Authority.
Visitors planning to go to the crater should therefore check the current access rules and authorised visiting arrangements before travelling, since entry is managed rather than open at all times.
Monitoring and emergency planning around Vesuvius
Vesuvius is monitored 24 hours a day by the Osservatorio Vesuviano. The Civil Protection page consulted reports the alert level as green.
Civil Protection has also developed a national emergency plan to protect the population living on the slopes of the volcano. The available sources do not provide a dated bulletin for the reported alert level, so visitors and residents should refer to the competent monitoring and civil protection bodies for current updates.
Together, the rescue drill, the managed access to "Il Gran Cono" and continuous volcanic monitoring describe the safety framework around the crater: preparation for an incident, regulation of presence in a sensitive area and scientific surveillance of the volcano.
