Two people are missing and two injured after an ice cave collapse in Iceland. The incident occurred when a tour group of 25 people made a visit to the Breidamerkurjokull glacier in the south-east of the country.
Two people were seriously injured on Sunday, one died of his injuries at the scene and the other was airlifted to a hospital in the capital Reykjavik. Sudurland police said:
Four people got stuck under the ice, two people have already been rescued from the ice and are seriously injured. The search is still on for the two people trapped in the ice cave.
Local news website Visir reported that all available rescue teams are involved in the search, as well as three helicopters from the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Danish Navy. Due to the difficult terrain, Visir continued, it has not been possible to get large icebreaking vehicles to the site, so rescuers are using hand saws and other tools to break up the ice.
The operation was suspended after nightfall due to dangerous conditions, but police said work would resume Monday morning. On Sunday, police said the call about the collapse came at 3 p.m. when four people from a group of 25 hikers and their guide fell under the ice while exploring the cave.
The glacier where the accident occurred is near the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist destinations.
Rescuers continue search in ice cave
A large number of rescuers worked throughout the day and into the evening in search of the two missing people. The operation was suspended as darkness fell due to dangerous conditions but will resume in the morning, police said.
Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported that transporting equipment and personnel to the glacier proved challenging due to the rugged terrain, and cutting through the ice was mostly done manually with chain saws. Local news reported that the group was on an organised guided tour of the ice cave, but most people were outside the cave when it collapsed.
The cave collapse was probably unrelated to Friday’s volcanic eruption in southeast Iceland, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from the glacier, the Associated Press noted.
