Man Suffers Severe Burns After Tripping and Falling Into Old Faithful

Tourists watch the 'Old Faithful' geyser in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 1, 2011. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

A man suffered severe burns after falling into thermal water at Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, officials said.

Cade Edmond Siemers, 48, who currently lives in India, “suffered severe burns to a significant portion of his body after falling into thermal water,” the National Park Service said in a statement on Sept. 29.

“Rangers and paramedics responded to the Old Faithful Inn at midnight where Siemers was staying. He told rangers that he had gone for a walk off boardwalk without a flashlight and tripped into a hot spring. He got himself back to his hotel room and called for assistance,” the statement said.

The Morning Glory hot spring in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, on June 2, 2011. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Officials said they suspect alcohol was a factor in the incident.

“Siemers was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone Airport and then flown by fixed-wing plane to Idaho Falls,” park officials said. “Bad weather conditions prohibited the use of a life flight helicopter at Old Faithful. He was admitted to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.”

A small portion of the Yellowstone buffalo herd graze in the early evening in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming on Oct. 8, 2012. Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Rangers said they went out in the morning to investigate the scene.

According to the news release, they found the man’s hat, shoe, and a beer can. They also spotted footprints and blood on the boardwalk.

Investigators are still looking into the matter, including if there was any damage done to the geyser cone.

The Old Faithful Geyser erupts every 51 to 120 minutes, the park says on its website. Around the vent, the water is about 203 degrees F.

The National Park Service issued a warning after the man was injured, saying: “The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Visitors must always remain on boardwalks and exercise extreme caution around thermal features.”

The Crested Pool hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, on May 14, 2016. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

A hot spring at the Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park on May 12, 2016. Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images

In June 2017, a man was injured after falling into a hot spring at Lower Geyser Basin. A year before that, a man died after slipping into the Norris Geyser Basin.

And in 2000, one person died and two were injured after falling into Lower Geyser Basin in the park, officials said.

Other details about the incident are not clear.