Giant explosion sends tourists running

Tourists were seen running for safety after a giant explosion at a famous national park caught a number off guard.

Tourists were seen running for safety after a giant explosion at Yellowstone National Park, located in the western United States.

The surprise hydrothermal explosion shot steam, water and dark-coloured rock into the sky on Tuesday morning in Biscuit Basin, about 3.2km north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

Footage shared to Facebook shows a group of tourists watching from a boardwalk as the eruption sprayed and grew in front of them.

They could then be seen running for safety as smoke billowed from the eruption.

“Back up!” one person was heard yelling, while another screamed, “Holy cow!”

Some people turned to watch the spectacle as huge amounts of steam could be seen flooding the area, with sections of boardwalk damaged.

The park’s official social media pages reported there was no injuries but the location has now been closed to the public.

Tourists were left stunned after a hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park. Picture: Facebook/vladamarch

No injuries were reported. Picture: Facebook/vladamarch

“(Heads Up!) Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park temporarily closed due to hydrothermal explosion,” the park’s X account said.

USGS Volcanoes said park employees were on the scene assessing the damage to the boardwalk with the blast understood to have originated near Black Diamond Pool.

#Yellowstone Park staff are on scene assessing conditions after a small hydrothermal explosion occurred today (July 23) in #BiscuitBasin. There are no reports of injuries. The boardwalk, on the other hand, will need a few repairs. The area remains temporarily closed. NPS photos. pic.twitter.com/XrHuUhw7fk

— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) July 23, 2024

(Heads Up!) Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park temporarily closed due to hydrothermal explosion. More info: https://t.co/tcDR8oRNSx pic.twitter.com/YP7CkwNrQR

— Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) July 23, 2024

The organisation then reassured visitors these sorts of hydrothermal explosions were “relatively common”.

“#Yellowstone Park staff are on scene assessing conditions after a small hydrothermal explosion occurred today (July 23) in #BiscuitBasin,” the post read.

“There are no reports of injuries. The boardwalk, on the other hand, will need a few repairs. The area remains temporarily closed.”

“Hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground,” the update said.

“They are relatively common in Yellowstone. An explosion similar to that of today also occurred in Biscuit Basin on May 17, 2009.

“The volcano remains at normal background levels of activity. Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region as a result of today’s hydrothermal explosion.”

Yellowstone National Park geologists are reportedly investigating the event.