Emergency employees in south Iceland are working by hand to attempt to rescue two international vacationers lacking after ice collapsed throughout a go to to a glacier, police say.
First responders acquired a name simply earlier than 15:00 (Iceland observes GMT) on Sunday in regards to the collapse within the Breidamerkurjökull glacier.
The 2 lacking had been amongst 25 individuals visiting an ice cave together with a information. Two individuals had been significantly injured within the incident.
“The situations are very troublesome on the bottom,” stated native police chief Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson. “It’s within the glacier. It’s exhausting to get gear there… It’s dangerous. Every thing is being achieved by hand.”
Native information retailers reported that 200 individuals had been engaged on the rescue operation which might proceed into the night time.
Talking on Icelandic TV, Chief Superintendent Rúnarsson stated police had been unable to contact the 2 lacking individuals.
“So we don’t know what the state of affairs is however two others who had been freed are badly injured,” he added.
Whereas the situations had been “troublesome”, the climate was “honest”, he stated.
Confirming that every one these concerned had been international vacationers, he stated there was nothing to counsel that the journey to the cave shouldn’t have taken place.
“Ice cave excursions occur virtually the entire yr,” he stated
“These are skilled and highly effective mountain guides who run these journeys. It’s at all times doable to be unfortunate. I belief these individuals to evaluate the state of affairs – when it’s protected or not protected to go, and good work has been achieved there over time. It is a dwelling land, so something can occur.”
The police chief was quoted as saying that individuals had been standing in a ravine between cave mouths when an ice wall collapsed.
Breidamerkurjökull is a glacial tongue which extends from the Vatnajökull glacier to the Jökulsárlón lagoon. The glacial tongue is famed for its ice caves, with teams providing excursions.