In the world-famous Yellowstone National Park in the United States, encountering bears and bison is not uncommon while touring, and occasional accidents of visitors being attacked may also happen. However, a recent incident in Yellowstone Park is relatively rare, as a vehicle carrying five passengers plunged into a dormant geyser hot spring pond in the park.
On Friday (July 12), the US National Park Service issued a press release stating that around 10:40 a.m. local time on Thursday, a car carrying five passengers accidentally veered off the road and crashed in the geothermal area near the intersection of Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction in Yellowstone National Park.
All five passengers were able to escape from the vehicle and were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, with non-life-threatening injuries.
The press release mentioned that on July 12, law enforcement temporarily closed two lanes of the road near the accident scene to safely tow the car out of the geothermal pond. The vehicle was completely submerged in about 9 feet of water.
The agency stated that the surface water in the Semi-Centennial Geyser geothermal area where the incident occurred is acidic and hot, reaching around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Semi-Centennial Geyser has been in a dormant state since a major eruption in 1922.
The agency mentioned that the incident is under investigation, and no further detailed information is available at the moment.
Yellowstone Park has five types of hot springs: geysers, fumaroles, mud springs, travertine terraces (hot springs rising from limestone), and fumaroles.