Officials in Yellowstone National Park have successfully removed a fully-submerged vehicle from a geyser, after the SUV went off the road and crashed, leaving the five occupants with non-life-threatening injuries.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service
July 13 (UPI) — Officials in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming have successfully removed a fully-submerged vehicle from a geyser, after the SUV went off the road and crashed.
All five of the vehicle’s occupants were able to escape from the vehicle without assistance and weretaken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the National Park Service said in a statement Friday.
The crash occurred around 10:40 a.m. MDT Thursday, as the vehicle left the pavement and crashed into the Semi-Centennial Geyser thermal feature near Roaring Mountain in Wyoming. The location is between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction.
Crews needed around two hours Friday to extract the vehicle from approximately 9 feet of water, requiring a full closure of the road.
The geyser has acidic and hot surface water temperatures, typically sitting around 105 degrees.
Officials did not elaborate on the extent or nature of the injuries to the five occupants of the vehicle.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.
The Semi-Centennial Geyser was first discovered in 1922, on the park’s 50th anniversary.
Yellowstone National Park covers 2.22 million acres across three states. The majority of the wilderness destination is located in Wyoming, with parts in Idaho and Montana. In addition to geysers and hot springs, the park also features canyons, rapid alpine rivers and dense forests. It is hope to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves and bison.