‘Volcano Live’ Viewers Point out Glaring Gas Mask Gaffe

Tonight, ABC aired a two-hour special Volcano Live! with Nik Wallenda, which documented the aerialist’s death-defying tightrope walk across the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. While Wallenda was able to complete the walk in the special’s final 30 minutes, it seems that not everything went off without a hitch. Namely, what some of the on-set talent was wearing — and the crew wasn’t.

Wallenda himself had to take some other safety precautions as well because of the gases that are emitted from the volcano, including wearing a gas mask and goggles to shield his eyes. While some of the tweet’s replies agreed, others were quick to point out that there was more going on than what the camera captured.

“The entire crew has been wearing gas masks for the majority of the week,” tweeted one viewer. “They can take them off for short bursts.”

“They explain the gas masks,” wrote another, adding that “some people would rather dramatically criticize, while others make history like Nik.”

“Volcano live is a sham right,” observed yet another viewer, though not in the original thread. “Sage is on screen talking through her gas mask saying how important the mask is while three dudes are directly behind her with no masks just living life.”

It wasn’t the only issue viewers took with Volcano Live!, as Wallenda was wearing a safety harness during the tightrope walk.

“There’s a substance that comes out of the volcano from that lava that almost appears to be oily or greasy that could cause the wire to be slippery,” Wallenda explained to The Wrap about the extra safety precautions necessary for Wednesday night’s feat. “The gases that come out actually eat wire, eat metal. We left a piece of cable in the canyon for six months and it literally dissolved because of those gases.”

Despite what some viewers on Twitter might have said, Wallenda explained in the interview that the dangers were very real. “

I mean they’re all real, but this one is more real than anything I’ve ever done as far as the layers, again, of risk and danger,” he said.

Prior to his volcano highwire act, Wallenda had previously done similar feats over the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls.