Rangers found a human foot floating in a natural pool in Yellowstone National Park, officials said Friday, warning visitors to stay away from the hot springs.
The foot was found in a shoe in the Abyss Pool, one of the park’s deepest hot springs, which has a temperature of around 60 degrees Celsius.
“Evidence from the investigation to date indicates that an incident involving a person probably occurred at the Abyss Pool on the morning of July 31, 2022,” said a statement from park officials, who currently raise the possibility of a homicide exclude.
Accidents are not uncommon at the hot springs that flow through the oldest national park in the United States. In 2016, a young man died after slipping and falling into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. Last year, two people needed treatment after suffering burns in the park’s water.
“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and water is boiling just below the surface,” the statement added, warning visitors to “stay on designated trails.”
Yellowstone, which welcomed more than 4.8 million visitors last year, covers almost 9,000 square kilometers in the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
The park includes hot springs, mudflats, steam vents and about half of the world’s active geysers, including the famous Old Faithful.
(AFP)