Officials: Damage to Yellowstone Park from hydrothermal explosion being assessed

July 24 (UPI) -- Officials of Yellowstone National Park are assessing the damage caused by a hydrothermal explosion that sent visitors running and forced a section of the park to close.

Park officials said in a statement that the explosion occurred at about 10:19 a.m. Tuesday near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, located just north of the park's iconic Old Faithful cone geyser.

Video of the incident circulating online shows a thick column of black debris being ejected hundreds of feet into the air. Visitors traversing a raised wooden boardwalk in vicinity of the explosion are then seen sprinting as the ejected debris rains down.

Following the explosion and the debris settling on the ground, a massive white plum is seen lifting into the air.

The park said no injuries were reported "and the extend of the damage is unknown at this time."

Park officials shared photos showing a damaged section of the raised boardwalk covered in rock and gray and black soot.

The Biscuit Basin has since been closed to the public and will be reopened when staff deem it safe, the park said, adding that staff from the park and the U.S. Geological Service will monitor its conditions.

"No other monitoring data show changes in the Yellowstone region," the park said. "Today's explosion does not reflect a change in the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity."

Yellowstone is "one of the most geologically dynamic areas on earth," according to the park, due its location near a shallow source of magma that causes volcanic activity.

The incident comes 10 days after five people were injured after a SUV went off road, crashed and then became submerged into a geyser at the park.