British tourist, 56, on holiday with wife and children dies after ‘falling ill’ while hiking up Mount Vesuvius in Italy

A 56-YEAR-OLD British tourist has died after “falling ill” while hiking up Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

The man, named by Italian media as Mark John Irwin lived in the United States and was on holiday in Italy with his wife and two children. 

A man has died while hiking up Mount VesuviusGetty

Mr Irwin fell ill near the top of the volcano and despite the efforts of rescuers to save him, he died while still on the volcano. 

Speaking to The Telegraph, Paolo Cappelli said: ‘It’s very sad. It is pretty rare for this to happen on Vesuvius. 

‘We have one death every one or two years which is not much considering the fact that around 3,000 people climb to the top of the volcano each day.’