A Camera Trapped Under Lava Somehow Survived and Filmed the Whole Thing

Want to know what it's like having lava roll over you without all the excruciating pain? PetaPixel has shared an unlikely story about a GoPro that survived temperatures hotter than your mouth after tasting Pepper X.

Erik Storm, owner and lead guide of Kilauea EcoGuides in Hawaii, set his GoPro in a deep crack while leading a tour up a volcano. He was attempting to film the lava flow trickling down the volcano beside them. “I was telling a story when the molten lava completely engulfed my GoPro [with housing on], and it caught on fire,” he told PetaPixel.

Once he noticed, he pulled the camera out with a geology rock hammer, assuming that was the device's swan song.

When he returned home he chiseled the cooled lava off the camera and was surprised to discover the Wi-Fi light still blinking. He was able to remove the SD card and found it was undamaged. His lack of attention to the camera is your great victory. He has footage of the camera going under the lava.

It beggars belief that the tiny GoPro would survive the intense heat of lava. The molten rock can reach temperatures of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit. Though, it's possible this lava was closer to a balmy 895 degrees. Nonetheless, even with a case on (and the pictures indicating it didn't go 100% under the lava), surviving any amount of time in lava is unbelievable. We have reached out to GoPro for details on how this might be possible.

Until an explanation comes along, enjoy this flaming GoPro being consumed by the slow rush of lava.

[h/t Indy 100]

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Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. Follow him @dlukenelson.