Irishman (31) thanks his rescuers after surviving 650ft volcano fall in Indonesia

“Thank you so much. You boys saved my life. I would never have been able to get back without you”

An Irishman has thanked rescuers who saved his life after he “miraculously” survived a 650ft fall down an active volcano in Indonesia.

Paul Farrel (31) from Sligo slipped and fell while hiking alone on Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara on Wednesday morning.

According to local media reports, he rolled down the steep hiking trail and “off a cliff” but suffered only minor injuries to his shoulder.

He was found in the shade of a small outcrop with a few deep cuts on his face, legs and arms by a rescue team before he was winched to safety using a pulley.

Smoking a cigarette and thanking his rescuers, the hiker vowed to take care and not stray too far from his hotel, local reports state.

He had been rescued by a team that was already evacuating the body of a teenager who fell into a ravine nearby, according to Kompas.

Rescue teams use a pulley to reach Paul

Paul called a local resort for help, who notified police early Wednesday morning, but the rescue team reported some difficulty communicating with him as he was holed up in a remote location with poor signal.

He told them: “Thank you so much. You boys saved my life. I would never have been able to get back without you.

“I'm going to stay safe after this and not go too far from my hotel,” he added while footage shows volunteers winching him to safety using a pulley.

He gave his rescuers a big hug when he was pulled back up to higher ground.

Iptu Nikolas Osma, chief of Public Relations of the East Lombok Police, said he had slipped “because the location is sandy”.

“The joint search and rescue team managed to evacuate him,” Osma said.

“From the results of the medical team's examination, he only suffered minor injuries to the shoulder.

“His general condition is currently healthy.”

Paul was taken to the Pelawangan Emergency Shelter for further observation.

Authorities said the place where he fell was near the point where the corpse of an Indonesian teenage hiker, Kaifat Rafi Mubarraq (16) was found.

Having gone missing after setting out for the summit of Mount Rinjani, a drone found his body lying in a ravine on October 8.

Hikers often traverse the mountain's dangerous terrain to see the stunning crater lake, Segara Anak, nearby.

Located on the island of Lombok in Indonesia, Mount Rinjani is the second-highest volcano in the country, standing at 12,224 feet.

Despite the fact that it is an active volcano, hikers often traverse the mountain's dangerous terrain to see the stunning crater lake, Segara Anak, nearby.