A rare incident occurred recently in Yellowstone National Park, a world-renowned destination where encounters with bears and bison are not uncommon and occasional incidents of visitor attacks do happen. However, the recent accident in Yellowstone Park was particularly unusual, as a car carrying five passengers plunged into a dormant thermal pool during their visit.
On Friday, July 12, the U.S. National Park Service issued a press release stating that around 10:40 a.m. local time on Thursday, a vehicle with 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, close to Roaring Mountain and the Semi-Centennial Geyser.
All five passengers were able to escape from the car 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 site to safely remove the car from the thermal pool. The vehicle was completely submerged in about 9 feet of water.
According to the Park Service, the surface water in the Semi-Centennial Geyser geothermal area where the incident took place is acidic and hot, around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Semi-Centennial Geyser has been in a dormant state since a major eruption in 1922.
The management stated that the investigation into the incident is ongoing, and there is currently no additional detailed information available from the park.
Yellowstone Park is home to five types of hot springs: hot springs, geysers, mud springs, travertine terraces (hot springs rising from limestone), and fumaroles.