Yellowstone Park accident victim dissolved in boiling acidic pool

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The remains of a man who died in a hot spring accident in Yellowstone National Park were dissolved before they could be recovered, it has emerged.

Colin Scott, 23, died in June in an illegal attempt to soak, or "hot pot", in the US park's thermal pools.

The accident was recorded by the victim's sister on her mobile phone, the incident report says.

The grisly details came to light following a freedom-of-information request by local television news.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is located mostly in the state of Wyoming but extends into parts of Montana and Idaho too.

'Very unforgiving'

According to the incident report, Mr Scott and his sister, Sable Scott, left the defined boardwalk area in Norris Basin on 7 June.

"The whole area is geothermally active," Yellowstone's deputy chief ranger Lorant Veress told KULR 8, which broke the story.

"There's a closure in place to protect people from doing that for their own safety. It's a very unforgiving environment."

He said the pair had been specifically looking for an area to soak in the thermal springs, despite the potential danger and warning signs.

Ms Scott was recording a video of her brother on the phone as he reached down to test the water, before he slipped and fell in.

Authorities did not share the video, or a description of its contents, out of sensitivity to the family, the report says.

Rescue teams later found his body in the pool but abandoned attempts to retrieve it due to the decreasing light available, the danger to themselves and an approaching lightning storm.

The following day, workers were unable to find any significant remains in the boiling water.

"In a very short order, there was a significant amount of dissolving," Mr Veress said.

The area of the park where the accident took place is on the edge of the famous Yellowstone caldera, a "supervolcano" or "hotspot".

The caldera's activity fuels the thermal pools in the area and it also has the potential for a "cataclysmic" eruption which would change global climate for decades.

However, experts at the US Geological Survey, which carefully monitors the area, say "the chances of this sort of eruption at Yellowstone are exceedingly small in the next few thousands of years."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38018209
 
The Darwin Awards were created for exactly this class of... enterprising individuals.
 
I know he was in the wrong... but death is death. RIP, think this is one of the most painful ways to die. It's like drowning but with more pain.
 
The Darwin Awards were created for exactly this class of... enterprising individuals.

Pretty much this.

Who goes off track on an active volcano (which Yellowstone is), ignores all the warnings, then walks up to literally a boiling lake of acidic water and gas, and tries to see if its suitable for a little swim??? What the hell was he thinking.

RIP and an awful way to go but Jesus, such stupidity. Feel for the sister having to watch it all happen, though she should have had the sense to just not go in the first place.
 
Tragic. Hopefully some good will come from this and people will learn that safety precautions are there for good reason.
 
Many such incidents keep happening every year in US.

People ignoring warning and going for a swim/surf in Shark infested waters, people biking/climbing in Grizzly Bear domain, Jogging in areas where Mountain Lions are active.... The list goes on.
 
Many such incidents keep happening every year in US.

People ignoring warning and going for a swim/surf in Shark infested waters, people biking/climbing in Grizzly Bear domain, Jogging in areas where Mountain Lions are active.... The list goes on.

That's because mountain lions are also called cougars, and people mistake it for something else.

Seriously though, mountain lions don't really kill all that many people. They occasionally venture on to the hill behind my yard, and they always flee if we shout at it. Quite timid for a "sher." Sort of like Nawaz Sharif.
 
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