Tourist Killed in Iceland Ice Cave Collapse, Miscommunication Triggers Rescue Mix-Up

One idiosyncratic is dormant and different injured aft a radical of tourists were trapped successful an crystal cave illness connected an Icelandic glacier. Initially, 2 others were thought to beryllium missing, prompting an aggravated rescue operation. However, constabulary present study that this disorder was caused by shoddy accusation provided by the circuit organizer.

On August 25, a radical of what was believed to beryllium 25 tourists were visiting the country arsenic portion of a guided circuit of the Breiðamerkurjökli glacier, a large attraction known for its lagoons, waterfalls, and crystal caves. Breiðamerkurjökli is an outlet glacier of the larger Vatnajökull glacier, the 2nd largest crystal headdress successful Europe.

Later that day, constabulary successful Iceland’s Suðurlandi portion reported connected societal media that 4 radical were struck by ice. Two of them, identified by constabulary arsenic an American couple, were aboriginal found. One of the pair, a male, was pronounced dormant astatine the scene. The survivor, a female, was flown by chopper to a infirmary successful Reykjavik, wherever their information is stable.

Initially, it was believed that 2 others were inactive missing. However, successful an update issued connected August 26, constabulary clarified that this was incorrect. The radical really consisted of 23 people, and nary 1 other was unaccounted for. No accusation connected the missing tourists could beryllium recovered successful the organizer’s books.

“It seems wide that registration for the travel and extracurricular attraction were not close arsenic good arsenic misleading accusation astir the fig of radical connected the trip,” constabulary said connected societal media. “The constabulary tract manager located astatine the country announced that each the crystal that was thought to person fallen connected the radical had been moved. It has travel to airy that nary 1 [is trapped] nether the ice. As a result, it is wide that lone 23 radical were connected this hike yesterday.”

“The rescue cognition is present implicit and the hunt has been called off,” the constabulary tract manager added.

The archetypal reports of missing radical triggered a important rescue operation. Authorities told Icelandic media outlet RUV that, contempt mild weather, getting instrumentality to the country was proving to beryllium challenging, and the hunt was “more oregon little each done by hand.” As nightfall approached, constabulary said conditions had go excessively treacherous to continue, but the cognition resumed astatine 7 a.m. section clip connected August 26. Police did not place immoderate of the tourists involved, saying lone that they were from “several nationalities.” An probe into the origin of the illness is underway.

The incidental is sparking a statement implicit Iceland’s crystal cave tourism industry. Garðar Sigurjónsson, vice-chairman of the Icelandic Mountain Guides Association, told RUV that much stringent regulations are needed to find erstwhile trips to the glacier tin beryllium made, and noted that Vatnajökull National Park officials person nary mode to support radical from entering Breiðamerkurjökli. Vatnajökull is Europe’s 2nd largest nationalist parkland and is location to immoderate of Iceland’s astir celebrated glaciers.

There is nary grounds to suggest that the crystal cave illness was connected to caller volcanic activity, which has resulted successful fractional a twelve eruptions since November, including one past week. Those eruptions occurred adjacent the municipality of Grindavik, 150 miles (240 kilometers) westbound of the nationalist park.

In 2006, a German antheral was killed erstwhile the extortion of an crystal cave successful cardinal Iceland collapsed portion helium was inside. In 2018, a geophysics prof issued a warning that immoderate crystal caves could beryllium unsafe owed to poisonous gasses released by geothermal heating.