Yellowstone National Park officials are expressing their condolences after confirming that a young man has died after falling into a geyser pool.

"We had a visitor in his early twenties walk off the boardwalk in the north Geyser Basin area and he slipped and fell into a hot spring on June 7," Park spokeswoman Charissa Reid said. "We did confirm late last night that he was deceased. His name is Colin Nathaniel Scott. He's 22, from Portland, Oregon."

Eye witnesses reported the accident, which Reid said could have been prevented if park regulations had been followed.

"We have had 22 deaths in Yellowstone since 1890, all due to thermal area burns, so it's not a totally unheard of event. But it is certainly one that is tragic and preventable," Reid said. "The reason Yellowstone is a national park is it is a very special place and the regulations we have in place are two-fold. They reinforce our mission to protect places like Yellowstone and also they ensure visitors safety."

Reid said retrieval of the body has been suspended because the acidity and hot temperature of the water had left no remains to recover.

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