A tourist is dead and two others are missing after an ice cave partially collapsed in southern Iceland, as a group was visiting the Breidamerkurjokull glacier on Sunday.
The group of about 25 foreign tourists from several nationalities were exploring ice caves with a guide shortly before 3 p.m., when four people were struck by falling ice, local police said in a statement on social media.
One tourist died from their injuries, while a second suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital in the capital, officials said.
About 200 rescuers began tirelessly searching for the two missing people, though the mission was paused after dark due to what local police described as “difficult” conditions, local news outlets reported. The search was to resume Monday morning.
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The Breidamerkurjokull glacier is a piedmont glacier in the southern part of Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images, File)
Rescuers have had to cut through the ice by hand using chain saws as the rugged glacier terrain proved difficult for transporting additional equipment and personnel, Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported.
The group of 25 foreign tourists from several nationalities were exploring ice caves, like the one pictured above, with a guide on Sunday when falling ice struck four people, local authorities said. (Sven-Erik Arndt /Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
Chief Superintendent Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson of the local police told Icelandic TV that there was no evidence to suggest that the guided cave tour should not have happened, according to the BBC.
The Breidamerkurjokull glacier is seen below the Vatnajokull ice cap near Hof, Iceland. Rescuers are still searching for two missing tourists on the glacier after an incident in an ice cave on Sunday. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images, File)
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“These are experienced and powerful mountain guides who run these trips,” Rúnarsson said. “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.”
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The collapse was likely not related to a volcanic eruption in southeast Iceland on Friday, which was around 185 miles away from the glacier.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
