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Iceland: Search called off after deadly ice cave collapse

Published August 26, 2024last updated August 26, 2024

Two people were initially believed to be trapped beneath the ice after a cave in a glacier collapsed. But authorities later said that all the tourists from a group visiting the area had been accounted for.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ju9S
The inside of an ice cave in Iceland's Breidamerkurjokull glacier
The ice cave is located in the Breidamerkurjokull glacierImage: Arterra/alimdi/imageBROKER/picture alliance

Police in Iceland have called off a search for missing tourists at the site of an ice cave collapse that killed one person and severely wounded another.

Authorities initially said two people were thought to still be trapped under the ice, but later issued a statement saying that all individuals had been accounted for.

The collapse happened on Sunday afternoon while a tour group was visiting the Breidamerkurjokull glacier with a guide.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while a woman was seriously injured and taken to hospital in the capital, Reykjavik. Both were US citizens. 

Breidamerkurjokull, located in the southeast of the country, extends from southern Vatnajökull into the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón, one of Iceland's popular tourist destinations.

The entrance to an ice cave in the Breidamerkurjokull glacier
Natural caves dot the Breidamerkurjokull glacierImage: Arterra/alimdi/imageBROKER/picture alliance

Why did police end their search?

Police said late on Monday that they had ended their search after examining the tour operator's records and establishing that 23 people were on the trip, not 25 as had first been reported.

They said that despite "conflicting information about the number of people on the trip," the search had continued as a precaution to make sure no one was trapped.

More than 200 people took part in the operation, with rescue crews working for hours to cut through big blocks of ice as they searched for those believed to be missing.

"A moment ago, the police field manager located at the scene announced that all the ice that was thought to have fallen on the people had been moved,'' police said. "It has come to light that no one (was) hidden under the ice.''

Two coast guard helicopters were dispatched to the scene, as well as ambulances, Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported.

jcg,nm/msh (AFP, dpa)

A vast expanse of ice: Europe’s biggest glacier