Tragic: The El Tatio Geysers, in Atacama Desert, Chile where the woman was seriously burned
A 69-year-old tourist is fighting for her life after falling into a geyser whilst apparently trying to take a selfie.
The
woman suffered 85 per cent burns to her body in the freak accident at
one of the scorching water plumes at the world-famous El Tatio in the
Antofagasta region of Chile.
The geyser field is located within the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres above the sea and its name comes from the Quechua word for oven.
It is among the highest-elevation geyser fields in the world.
El
Tatio has over 80 active geysers, making it the largest geyser field in
the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world.
DeAgostini/Getty Images
Powerful: The El Tatio, geyser field at 4321 m, Atacama Desert, Region of Antofagasta, Chile
so sad.
The woman, who is from Belgium, walked over to one of the
geysers, which can hit heights of up to 18ft, but slipped when she was
surprised by their ferocity and fell into the hot spring.
The 69-year-old woman was flown to the special burns unit at the Hospital de Santiago de Chile.
A
police spokesman said all the indications suggested it was a tragic
accident but El Tatio has been closed for five days to allow a full
investigation.
From their preliminary enquiries, they believe the
woman was standing with her back to one of the geysers as she took a
photograph.
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