Iceland - Two people missing and two injured in ice cave collapse, Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, 25 August 2024

[JennieM]

Two people missing and two injured in ice cave collapse in Iceland​

Incident happened as tour group of 25 was visiting Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in south-east of country

[…]

“Four people got stuck under the ice, two people have already been rescued from the ice and are seriously injured,” Sudurland police said on Sunday.

“The search is still on for the two people trapped in the ice cave,” the statement continued.

Icelandic media reported that two helicopters from the country’s coastguard had been dispatched, and ambulances and police had also been called to the scene.

Two people missing and two injured in ice cave collapse in Iceland

Incident happened as tour group of 25 was visiting Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in south-east of country

www.theguardian.com

 

[LadyL]

what a nightmare
I hope they can rescue the two missing

 

[JennieM]

First responders received a call just before 15:00 local time (16:00 BST) on Sunday about the ice collapse in the Breidamerkurjökull glacier in the country's south.

[…]

Four people were hit by ice. Two were rescued with serious injuries, while rescuers were still searching for the other two as of 22:00 BST, according to local media.

Local news outlets reported that 200 people were working on the rescue operation that would continue into the night.

Police said in their press release around 18:00 that an ice cave had collapsed.

However, Icelandic news outlet Visir quoted Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson, a senior police officer, as saying people were actually standing in a ravine between the cave mouths when an ice wall collapsed.

Tourist dies after ice collapse in Iceland's Breidamerkurjökull glacier

Another is injured and two are missing after ice collapsed in the Breidamerkurjökull glacier.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[whitelilac]

So much tectonic activity in Iceland presently, plus the overall ice melt.
I hope they are rescued safely, and the two with serious injuries recover.

 

[JennieM]

Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson, chief police officer, told local news website RUV that all rescue work was being carried out by hand and that so far, no contact has been made with the two missing persons.

[…]

Around 100 people are reportedly working on the rescue operation, including all rescue services in Suðurland and the capital area.

[…]

Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir, communications manager for Civil Defence, has said the conditions on the glacier are extremely difficult.

According to RUV, one man — who did not want to be named — said the cave was not that deep, about three to five metres.

Around ten minutes after his tour group had left the cave they heard a crash but did not think any more of it until they went back to their hotel.

The glacier where the accident happened is near the glacial lagoon Jokulsarlon, one of the Iceland's more popular tourist destinations.

One foreign tourist dead and two missing as ice cave collapses

A group of 25 people were on an organised tour of the glacier Breidamerkurjokull today with a guide, when the cave collapsed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Sadly one tourist has been confirmed dead, two people remain trapped and one tourist has been injured but is in a stable condition.

One foreign tourist dead and two missing as ice cave collapses

A group of 25 people were on an organised tour of the glacier Breidamerkurjokull today with a guide, when the cave collapsed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

The search for the two missing tourists has been called off for the day as it has become too dark and the conditions are too difficult to work in.

[…]

An emergency aid centre was opened in Hofgarð in Öræfi yesterday evening.

One foreign tourist dead and two missing as ice cave collapses

A group of 25 people were on an organised tour of the glacier Breidamerkurjokull today with a guide, when the cave collapsed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Rescuers have resumed the search for the missing in the Breidamerkurjökull glacier after suspending the operation overnight because of difficult conditions.

[…]

While the conditions were "difficult", the weather was "fair", [Chief Superintendent Rúnarsson] said on Sunday night.

Confirming that all those involved were foreign tourists, he said there was nothing to suggest that the trip to the cave should not have taken place.

"Ice cave tours happen almost the whole year," he said.

"These are experienced and powerful mountain guides who run these trips. It's always possible to be unlucky. I trust these people to assess the situation - when it's safe or not safe to go, and good work has been done there over time. This is a living land, so anything can happen."

The police chief was quoted as saying that people had been standing in a ravine between cave mouths when an ice wall collapsed.

Tourist dies after ice collapse in Iceland's Breidamerkurjökull glacier

Another is injured and two are missing after ice collapsed in the Breidamerkurjökull glacier.

www.bbc.co.uk