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Man severely burned after falling into Yellowstone hot spring
Attachment 87228
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyoming — A North Carolina man was being treated at the University of Utah Burn Center after falling into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park late Tuesday night.
Gervais Dylan Gatete, 21, was with seven other people in the Lower Geyser Basin north of Old Faithful when he fell, according to a park news release and reported by EastIdahoNews.com.
The group attempted to transport Gatete, an employee with Xanterra Parks and Resorts, by car for medical treatment. Just before midnight, they flagged down a park ranger near Seven Mile Bridge on the West Entrance Road.
An ambulance was called and Gatete was rushed to the West Yellowstone Airport to be flown to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Officials spent Wednesday investigating exactly where and how Gatete fell into the hot spring. It’s unclear if he and his group were on or off marked trails.
His condition was listed as critical as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Yellowstone’s thermal features are dangerous,” said Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk in a news release. “We continually stress that people must stay on trails and boardwalks in geyser basins, not only to protect resources, but for their own safety.”
This is the first serious injury in a thermal area at the park this year.
Last June, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin.
In August 2000, one person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.
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