A mid-morning Tuesday explosion at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming destroyed a boardwalk and sent tourists scampering for safety, according to reports.
The “localized hydrothermal explosion occurred near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, located just north of Old Faithful” at about 10:19 a.m., according to a press release from Yellowstone.
“No injuries were reported and the extent of damage is unknown at this time,” the release states.
The park‘s authorities reportedly closed the Biscuit Basin and its immediate environs following the explosive eruption but kept the Grand Loop Road — an hourglass-shaped road 25-odd miles east of the basin — open. (RELATED: Yellowstone Tourist Gets Jail Time For ‘Dangerous,’ Caught-On-Camera Incident)
A video of the event shows a welter of black water, steam and rocks erupting skyward and crashing onto a boardwalk as tourists fled from it.
“@Biscuit basin at Yellowstone national park Montana just exploded right in front of us. Boardwalk destroyed, my mom got some of the debris but everyone is safe. Unbelievable and grateful to be alive,” the video’s poster, Vlada March, said in the accompanying post.
Another video from March shows much of the boardwalk damaged and littered with rocks as steam rises from the basin’s geyser in the aftermath.
The geyser is the Black Diamond Geyser, according to the non-profit GeyserTimes. The geyser is located in the Black Diamond Pool.
Hydrothermal eruptions have occurred at the Black Diamond Pool, albeit infrequently, according to Yellowstone. The pool itself reportedly was the product of hydrothermal explosions.
One similar historic explosive eruption at the Black Diamond Pool occurred in the wake of a July 2006 earthquake, setting off a chain of explosions over the following days, the park’s authorities revealed.
The current eruption reportedly is the pool’s first since 2016.
The highly alkaline murky blue pool reportedly has an average temperature of 148.5°F.
Yellowstone‘s staff and personnel from the U.S. Geological Survey have since been monitoring the “evolving incident” and will “reopen the area once deemed safe,” the park’s management said.
