Tourist suffers horrific burns to his feet after walking through Death Valley in 120F weather with no flip flops

A Belgian tourist suffered terrible burns to his feet after walking barefoot through Death Valley National Park in temperatures of 49 degrees Celsius.

The 42-year-old man, who has not been identified, ventured onto the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes on Saturday but soon became unable to walk and had to be carried to the trailhead by other park visitors, the National Park Service said.

He was then examined by park rangers, who determined that he had third-degree burns to his feet and required urgent medical attention.

“The skin on his foot was melted,” said Gia Ponce, a Death Valley National Park Service ranger. told the Los Angeles Times.

She noted that while it was 130 degrees outside, “the ground can be much warmer: 170, 180, sometimes even 200 degrees.”

“People think it’s like the beach, where you can only go out in flip-flops or sandals, but because of the extreme temperatures, those dunes can get just as hot as the asphalt,” Ponce explains.

It is now believed the man was initially wearing flip-flops, but due to a language barrier, park rangers were unable to confirm whether he had lost them or if they were buried in the sand.

The man’s accident continued when a Mercy Air helicopter was unable to land due to the extreme heat, which thins the air and makes it impossible to land. helicopters cannot generate enough lift.

Instead, the rangers had to take the tourist to a landing site 3,000 feet above sea level, where the temperature was 42 degrees Celsius, cool enough to land the helicopter safely.

He was then transported to a hospital in nearby Las Vegas, Nevada. The man’s condition is unclear.

It is believed the man was initially wearing slippers, but it is unclear whether he lost them or whether they were buried under sand dunes.

But just two days earlier, on July 18, the same higher-altitude helicopter location had to be used for a woman who fell asleep while hiking the Badlands Loop. This was reported by Mercury News.

Her companion told park rangers that they left for the four-and-a-half-kilometre trail around 9:30 a.m., when temperatures were around 43 degrees Celsius.

But a wrong turn made their walk longer and the unknown woman could no longer continue.

Her walking companion then returned to the parking lot alone, but found that there was no cell phone reception, meaning she was unable to call for help.

Finally, around 11:00 a.m., a park visitor arrived at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center to report the emergency.

Park visitors carried the unconscious woman to the trailhead and an ambulance took her to the helicopter.

She was then flown to a Las Vegas hospital to be treated for heat illness, park officials said.

Rangers advise travelers not to hike in Death Valley National Park after 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, on July 6, one of the six German men traveling on the motorcycle died from heat exhaustion when temperatures rose to 53 degrees Celsius.

Authorities advise visitors to stay near air-conditioned areas, drink plenty of fluids, wear sunscreen and avoid walking after 10am.

Park rangers advise travelers to stay within a 10-minute walking distance of an air-conditioned vehicle.