08/19/2022 22:49 (act 08/19/2022 22:49)
Hot springs – here the Norris Geyser Basin – are dangerous ©APA/AFP
Rangers found a severed human foot in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. The foot was in a shoe and swam on the surface of the Abyss Pool hot spring, which is around 60 degrees, park management said on Friday. Previous investigations indicated a no-fault accident, he said.
In this context, the park administration reiterated the request not to get too close to the hot springs. Visitors should only move near the hot water on designated paths and walkways. The soil near the hot springs is thin and can crack, and there is scalding water below the surface.
The foot that has now been found will be investigated. According to current knowledge, the discovery may be related to an accident on the morning of July 31 near the Abyss Pool.
Accidents happen all the time in Yellowstone Park, the oldest national park in the United States. In 2016, a young man died after slipping off a pier and falling into the Norris Geyser Basin hot springs. In 2021, two park visitors had to be treated for scalding after coming into contact with the water.
Yellowstone Park spans over 9,000 square kilometers between the US states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. In 2021, 4.8 million people visited the nature reserve, which is home to hot springs, mud pots and about half of the world’s active geysers, among other things.