Taiwanese Woman Drowns in Yellowstone’s Firehole River

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—A 22-year-old woman died last night at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center from injuries sustained when she slipped under the surface of the water at Firehole River near Old Faithful. Lin Ching-Ling, a Taiwanese national, was submerged for approximately 5 minutes before bystanders were able to pull her out of the water.

National Park Service rangers and a paramedic responded to a call received at approximately 1:35 p.m. of a woman who had been submerged in the water. A park visitor saw the woman on the bottom of the river, approximately 10 feet below the surface, and dove down to retrieve her. He then brought her to the water’s edge, yelled for help, and immediately began CPR.

A doctor and two nurses who happened to be in the area quickly took over CPR efforts. When park paramedics and rangers arrived, CPR was continued for about 40 minutes on-scene, when the patient regained a pulse. She was then taken by ambulance to Madison Junction where a waiting helicopter transported her to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

According to hospital officials, she was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m.

Rivers, streams, and lakes in Yellowstone National Park can be extremely dangerous. Water conditions can change quickly, and should only be entered with extreme caution. Visitors should be well aware of the water conditions, temperatures, and their own swimming ability before entering any body of water in the park.