Accidents on Stromboli volcano

2. November 2000

The following extraordinary, tragic event is not associated with unusual eruptive activity of Stromboli.

«La Sicilia» daily newspaper, 7 November 2000 / LUIGI BARRICA : «JUMPED INTO THE CRATER TO DIE - OVERWHELMING ACT OF SUICIDE COMMITTED BY A GERMAN TOURIST ON STROMBOLI»

Translation into English by Boris Behncke.

He did not bear walking on the Way of the Cross any longer, so he decided to climb onto Stromboli and sacrifice himself, at «his Golgotha», to put an end to his existence. An existence exhausted by a grave form of diabetes, which had brought him, slowly, into a profound and irreversible depression. So he, Hermann Horst, aged 61, from Berlin, to free himself from that suffering, has thrown himself into the inferno: into one of the craters of Stromboli.

Thus he died, at 960 m elevation, in one of the fiery mouths about 300 m deep - so deep in fact, that the recuers had to definitely suspend their efforts to search for the body, if anything has remains of this body. It is fairly obvious that it was really suicide. His glasses, medicines and wallet, perfectly put in order, were found near the crater.

The German had climbed Stromboli alone on 2. November. It was believed that the man had lost his way, and rescuers were sent out. Tens of volunteers, Protezione Civile, Guardia della Finanza and Carabinieriand others were on the search but found no trace. Yesterday a group of Germans who are present on Stromboli, who described Horst, having recognized him on a photo that was in the wallet found by the crater, as «in a strange, quiet and evidently depressive state. We had met him some days ago», they said, «and we immediately understood that he was living a personal drama. We even offered to help him, but he refused. However, we wouldn't have ever believed that that story would end that tragically.»