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A video of a tourist dunking her fingers into a hot spring in United States’ Yellowstone National Park has sparked online outrage. The video went viral around June 20 and recently amassed more views on social media, with netizens slamming the woman who dipped her fingers in the hydrothermal pool.
Gary Mackenzie, one of the witnesses, recorded and posted the incident on Instagram. Another Instagram user, @touronsofyellowstone, then reposted the video. The account provided a context to what happened at the park by quoting Gary’s narration of the incident.
According to it, Gary would have called for a ranger or a service to bring back the two people who were off the boardwalk by the hydrothermal pool. However, he heard part of the conversation between the man and presumably his daughter by the pool.
The daughter said something about Silex Spring and Fountain Paint Pot Area. Gary told the man that it was a bad idea to touch the substance of the hot spring and that they should not get off the boardwalk. However, when the man did not pay any heed to the warning, Gary decided to record them.
The video was also shared on YouTube by ViralHog. One user commented that the two should be arrested for their stupidity.
Viral hot spring tourist video leaves netizens furious
Netizens called the pair "stupid" and wondered why they were not arrested for the act. Some people were simply done with the amount of ignorance and foolishness displayed by the two.
People have died before from falling into the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park
In the video, the man and the woman were the only ones standing by the edge of the hydrothermal Silex Spring at Yellowstone National Park's Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail in Wyoming. Spectators could be seen gathering near the steaming hot spring.
The woman crouched on the ground by the pool's edge and dipped her fingers into the pool while holding onto the man with her other hand. She immediately removed her hand and retracted from the deadly hot spring.
The safety guidelines stated on Yellowstone National Park's website strictly prohibit visitors from touching or swimming in the hot springs.
"Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs."
The park agency also noted that in the past, more than 20 people had lost their lives from burns after they fell into the hot springs or entered them willingly. In 2016, a man died after he tried to soak in one of the geysers in the park. Before park rangers could recover his body, it dissolved in the water, which was superheated.
