According to a National Park Service news release, the 42-year-old Belgian tourist was taking a short walk Saturday in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in 123-degree heat when he either broke or lost his flip-flops, putting his feet into direct contact with the desert ground. The result: third-degree burns.

“The skin was melted off his foot,” said Death Valley National Park Service Ranger Gia Ponce. “The ground can be much hotter — 170, 180 [degrees]. Sometimes up into the 200 range.”

Unable to get out on his own and in extreme pain, the man and his family recruited other park visitors to help; together, the group carried him to the sand dunes parking lot, where park rangers assessed his injuries.

Though they wanted a helicopter to fly him out, helicopters can’t generate enough lift to fly in the heat-thinned air over the hottest parts of Death Valley, officials said. So park rangers summoned an ambulance that took him to higher ground, where it was a cooler 109 degrees and he could then be flown out.

  • @ripcord
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    2 months ago

    You didn’t mention food, no.

    I asked you a specific question, brought in a relevant point, explained why it was relevent, and you’re still ignoring it with some random streams off consciousness.

    Also, not everyone works on the same schedule. I have more important things to do than reply to you on your timetable.

    What? But…you did reply. That was the point. I wasn’t complaining about the timing, just that you blathered some reply that ignored what it was replying to.

    You clearly just want to talk at people, I won’t be getting your reply.