Tourist falls into geyser, suffers burns at park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — A tourist who wandered off a trail broke through fragile ground near a geyser, scalding his legs up to his knees. He received second-degree burns.

The man and a friend were hiking Thursday afternoon when they decided to leave the boardwalk in the park's Firehole Lake area of Lower Geyser Basin, rangers said. He stepped through the thin layer of earth in thermal areas that covers water near or above the boiling point.

He was pulled from the water by the friend, who drove him to Old Faithful Inn at the park. There, emergency workers stabilized the man and transported him to Old Faithful Clinic. He was flown later to an Idaho hospital.