SUV Carrying 5 People Sinks Into Yellowstone Thermal Feature After Running Off Road

Five people were taken to a hospital for treatment after their SUV crashed into a hot, acidic thermal feature at Yellowstone National Park last week.

The vehicle became fully submerged in 9 feet of water inside the inactive Semi-Centennial Geyser thermal feature after it inadvertently drove off a road around 10:40 a.m., park officials said in anews release.

All five occupants were able to escape on their own and were transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The road was closed for about two hours on Friday to remove the vehicle.

The thermal feature, located between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction, has a surface water temperature of about 105 degrees F. (Hot tubs, for comparison, are advised to be set at no more than 104 degrees to prevent heat stroke.)

Additional information, including the cause of the crash and the passengers’ condition, was not immediately known. A parks representative told HuffPost on Monday that the incident remains under investigation and there were no additional details that could be provided.

The Semi-Centennial Geyser was briefly named the largest geyser in the world when it was first seen erupting in 1922, spraying water from an underground hot springs an estimated 300 feet into the air, according to a past bulletin documenting the incident by the National Parks Association.

Yellowstone has numerous hot springs, some more treacherous in temperature than others.

In 2022, a 70-year-old man’s foot was found floating in an approximately 140-degree hot spring at the park after he’s believed to have fallen in and died.

Then in 2016, a 23-year-old Oregon man died after slipping and falling into a hot spring while looking for a warm body of water to soak in,