A boy who fell into a boiling geothermal spring in New Zealand died from severe burns yesterday, hospital officials said.

The eight-year-old was on a family outing on December 26 when he fell into a pool at Kuirau Park in Rotorua, a popular tourist destination on the North Island famous for its geothermal springs.

Rotorua's boiling thermal springs are a world-renowned tourist attraction. Credit:AFP

Witnesses told the New Zealand Herald they saw the boy screaming in agony as the skin on his hands peeled off.

He was airlifted to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital and placed in intensive care but a hospital spokesman said he could not survive his injuries and died on Thursday afternoon surrounded by his family, NZPA news agency reported.