Death Valley tourist rescued after burning feet on sand dunes

A tourist was hospitalized after suffering third-degree burns on his feet on Saturday when he lost his flip flops at a national park in California where temperatures soared past 48 Celsius.

“The skin was melted off his foot,” park ranger Gia Ponce told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old man from Belgium burned his feet while taking a short walk on the sand dunes at Death Valley National Park in Death Valley, Calif., on Saturday, according to a press released issued by the U.S. National Park Service on Tuesday.

While the air temperature surpassed 50 C, the ground temperature would have been much hotter, the statement said.

The man’s family called for help and got other visitors to carry him to the parking lot.

NPS said, due to communication challenges, park rangers couldn’t determine if his flip flops broke or were lost in the sand.

But they “determined the man needed to be transported to a hospital quickly due to his burns and pain level,” read the release.

However, a medical transport helicopter wasn’t able to safely land in Death Valley because of the extreme temperatures that hindered its ability to fly.

As a result, the ambulance moved the man to a higher elevation, which had cooler temperatures and allowed for a safe landing.

The helicopter eventually transported the man to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

The U.S. National Park Service didn’t immediately respond to CTVNews.ca’s request for an update on the man’s condition.

The agency posted an extreme summer heat alert on its website Thursday, noting high temperatures of 43 C to 54 C.

It advised people to remain within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks, wear a hat and sunscreen and not hike after 10 a.m. It noted cellphones do not work in most of the park.

According to Stanford Medicine, third-degree burns appear white or charred. They destroy two layers of skin, the epidermis and dermis, and may also damage bones, muscles and tendons. They result in the burned area having no sensation due to damaged nerve endings.

Earlier this month, a visitor to Death Valley died from heat exposure, the national park said in a statement. According to preliminary data, the temperature reached a high of 53 C that day.