A falling tree in Yellowstone National Park killed an international tourist on Monday.
The 36-year-old tourist who was killed by the falling tree was from Taiwan, the Republic of China. The man was part of a tourist group that was hiking the Fairy Falls trail, just north of the Old Faithful area and west of the Grand Loop Road, the National Park Service reports.
The man verged off the course and was walking up a tree-covered course to try to get a better view of the Grand Prismatic Spring when a lodgepole pine tree suddenly fell and hit him in the head.
The other visitors who saw the accident occur went back to the trail and ran into two park maintenance employees working in the area. They told the the information and it was reported to the Yellowstone law enforcement rangers.
The rangers moved the victim to the trailhead and waited for a helicopter to transport him to a hospital, but when attempts to revive the man failed, he was declared dead at the scene.
The Yellowstone rangers on the scene noted that there were windy weather conditions at the time of the accident. The tree that fell was a standing, dead lodgepole pine tree tat had died during fires in the park in 1988.
The name of the victim has not been released as the family needs to be notified. The National Park Service is investigating the accident.
Someone being killed by a falling tree in Yellowstone is rare but it is not unheard of and several deaths have occurred at the park due to different reasons. Some people have been killed by wildlife such as bears and even bison. Some people have also died after being burned by scalding water from geysers. Visitors have also died from drowning and falls. However these occurrences aren't likely. Three million people visit Yellowstone every year.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
