This man met a gruesome end in the United States after attempting to «hot pot» in Yellowstone National Park.
This magnificent national park is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes as well as its natural hot springs, which can, however, prove to be extremely dangerous.
One of the world’s largest magma chambers lies beneath Yellowstone, which means that the water on the surface of its hot springs is, unsurprisingly, almost boiling.
The hot springs are fenced off, and numerous warnings caution visitors against getting too close, as no one should ever consider bathing in them — it would be fatal.
It was with surprise that Colin Scott and his sister Sable Scott ventured into the park with the intention of trying «hot potting,» an illegal practice that involves immersing oneself in a hot spring.
«They were specifically moving in this area to look for a place where they could potentially get into and soak,» said Lorant Veress, Deputy Chief Ranger, to KULR at the time.
Sable had recorded Colin intentionally straying from the Norris Geyser Basin boardwalk when her brother fell into the water—apparently by dipping his finger to test the water’s temperature.
«The smartphone recorded the moment he slipped and fell into the pool, as well as the young woman’s efforts to rescue him,» the report states. Since there was no cell phone signal in the area, Sable reportedly went to a nearby museum to seek help.
Several hours later, Colin’s body was found floating in the water, but authorities couldn’t retrieve it after a storm forced them to suspend the operation. When they returned the next day, there was nothing left of the young man except a wallet and flip-flops.
Veress wrote in his incident report that on the day Colin met a tragic end, the waters were particularly acidic. «In a very short order, there was a significant dissolution,» he wrote.
The geothermal pools and basins in Yellowstone are extremely hot on the surface (93°C), but they reach much higher temperatures at depth.
The National Park Service warns visitors that they must stay on boardwalks or designated trails when traversing thermal areas. «Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature,» the website reads.
What a terrible ordeal, one that could have been avoided if Colin and his sister had heeded the warnings.