Tourist suffers severe burns after losing flip-flop in Death Valley

A tourist who was walking in Death Valley in the United States lost a flip-flop. Instinctively, he placed his foot on the hot sand, which immediately caused severe burns. Additionally, the extremely hot air prevented a rescue helicopter from arriving on the scene.

Last Saturday, the temperature in Death Valley, USA, reached a record 50 degrees Celsius. A tourist from Belgium experienced firsthand how dangerous such conditions can be.

When the 42-year-old man was walking on the heated dunes in the national park, one of his flip-flops slid off his foot. The tourist instinctively decided to place his foot on the ground. Unfortunately, the hot sand caused third-degree burns.

The skin on his foot melted, said park ranger Gia Poonce.

Because of the pain, the man was unable to move independently. His family asked other tourists for help, who quickly responded. Together, with great effort, they carried him off the hot dunes to the parking lot. There, the man's burns were treated by park rangers.

The rangers planned to call a rescue helicopter, but due to the extreme air temperatures, the helicopter couldn't land in Death Valley.

Eventually, an ambulance arrived and transported the burned tourist to a higher elevation area, where the temperature was somewhat lower. From there, the rescue helicopter crew took the man, who could now safely land. The helicopter transported the victim to a specialised burn centre in Las Vegas, where he received the necessary medical care.

During the summer, Death Valley experiences extreme heat, which is so intense that tourists are advised to move around the dunes with closed shoes. The Belgian ignored these warnings and learned firsthand that the sand at such high air temperatures can reach even 80-90 degrees Celsius.

"People think it's going to be like the beach where you can get out there with flip-flops or sandals, but because of the extreme temperatures, those dunes heat up just as much as the pavement does," says Gia Poonce. She adds that rangers wear gloves to avoid contact with the hot sand with bare hands.

Death Valley is located in the Mojave Desert in southern California. The name "Death Valley" comes from the California Gold Rush, when gold seekers, trying to shorten their route to the gold-rich Sierra Nevada, barely escaped with their lives.