Written by: Dave Owen

An American student died after falling into a boiling, acidic geyser basin at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, it has been revealed.

Colin Scott, 23, and his sister Sable were taking a college graduation trip to the park so they could soak in geothermal waters, a practice known as ‘hot potting’, which is banned by the national park. While checking the temperature of a hot spring, Colin fell into the water. Sable was unable to rescue him before he died.

A lightning storm meant a search and rescue team couldn’t reach the site until the following day, by which time the acidic water had disintegrated the body.

“In a very short order, there was a significant amount of dissolving,” said deputy chief ranger Lorant Veress.

The incident occurred in June, but has only now been made public. It was captured on video via cell phone, but we won’t be including any footage here.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time somebody has died after trying to bathe in the park’s waters: 20 people have died in the past after ignoring on-site warnings and precautions, and many more have been severely burned.

“It’s a very unforgiving environment,” said Veress.