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Nine Yellowstone National Park visitors were struck by lightning Tuesday afternoon while hundreds watched, waiting for Old Faithful Geyser to erupt.

The visitors were on the boardwalk or walkways around Old Faithful when a small thunderstorm cell produced a single lightning bolt, according to a news release from Yellowstone National Park. Two people were on the asphalt walkway between the Old Faithful Lodge and the boardwalk that circles the geyser.

Park staff immediately converged on the scene of the strike and began to triage the injured visitors.

Bystanders had started CPR on a 57-year-old man who was conscious and breathing when rangers arrived. He was taken to the Old Faithful Clinic, and then transported by an Air Idaho Rescue helicopter to and admitted to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. His current condition was not available as of late Wednesday morning, according to the park.

An 18-year-old male patient complained of shortness of breath. He was taken by ambulance to the Old Faithful Clinic where we has treated and released.

Six other people with minor injuries gathered next to the building under an overhang to get out of the rain and hail which continued to fall. They had various complaints of shortness of breath, tingling, or numbness. They were all taken to the Old Faithful Clinic where they were treated and released.

A ninth individual walked into the Old Faithful Ranger Station and reported being struck by lightning. This person did not seek medical attention.

Hundreds of visitors witnessed the incident, as they were awaiting the next eruption of the famous geyser.

Tuesday's lightning strike at Old Faithful Geyser is not the first one Yellowstone National Park has seen at that location.

In June 2005, 11 people were injured, one seriously, in a very similar accident, park spokesman Al Nash said.

National Weather Service lightning data shows the famous geyser does not receive more lightning strikes than other parts of the park, but four of five visitors to Yellowstone go to Old Faithful, making it a crowded place, according to Nash. This year more than 3 million people are expected to visit the park.