3-Year-Old Severely Burned After Falling Into A Thermal Pool

Above, a geothermal pool in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I blame the parents for this.

If people are going to bring their very young children to Yellowstone National Park, they need to keep them under tight control, even as far has having a leash on them. They can't be left running loose around geysers and geothermal pools.

From The News & Observer:

A 3-year-old has second-degree thermal burns after slipping and falling into a scalding thermal pool, Yellowstone National Park said.

The child took off running away from the trail, slipped and fell into the boiling water, the park said Friday in a news release. They have thermal burns on their lower body and back and had to be lifelighted to the burn center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

“The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface,” the park said. “Visitors must always remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features.”

There have been other severe injuries and fatalities from the thermal pools and geysers at Yellowstone over the recent years (the article recounts some).

To read more, go here.