A car full of people landed in Yellowstone National Park’s Semi-Centennial Geyser last Thursday. Despite being submerged in nine feet of 105-degree acidic water, all five passengers were able to leave the car under their own power before being hospitalized with “non-life-threatening injuries” according to the National Parks Service.
Right now, authorities haven’t said how the full car ended up underwater in Yellowstone, but the environment around the geyser shows how easy it could be for an accident to happen. The Semi-Centennial Geyser sits just off of Grand Loop Road in the park, with only a fairly steep hill separating traffic from the water. Were a car to lose control on the road, it’s easy to see how it could fall straight into the geyser.
Luckily, all occupants of the car appear to be in relatively good shape, based on the National Parks Service’s reporting. The car, however, doesn’t appear to have fared as well — it sat in its acid bath overnight, until authorities could close the road the next day and lift the car out by crane.
The accident is reportedly still under investigation, so it may be some time yet before we know just what happened to send a car barreling into one of Yellowstone’s geysers. Still, better that than your car being swallowed by an unexpected sinkhole.