A wall of ice leading to a popular tourist ice cave collapsed in Iceland’s Breidamerkurjokull Glacier yesterday. One unnamed U.S. tourist was confirmed dead on the spot, and a second injured person was airlifted to hospital. Two more were considered missing yesterday, when the group size was mistakenly listed as 25 instead of the correct 23.
For two days, a large rescue operation involving up to 200 people tried to reach the two people thought missing. However, the search has now been called off, as everyone is now accounted for.
The Breidamerkurjokull Glacier. Photo: Wikipedia
Ice caves are a popular tourist attraction in several glacial areas of the world. They are formed among crevasses or between the layer of ice and the rock beneath. Summer meltwater rivers under the glaciers can also create tunnels and passages. Yet glaciers are unstable, ever-moving masses of ice. A collapse or change to the shape of a cave can happen any time, especially in warmer months.
Last Friday, there was a major volcanic eruption in eastern Iceland, but the event is unrelated to the ice collapse.
A popular spot
The Breidamerkurjokull Glacier, in Vatnajokull National Park, is a popular tourist spot in Iceland. Part of a larger glacier, it ends in two lagoons: Breioarlon and the larger and better-known Jokulsarlon.
As the icebergs break away from the glacier’s tongue, they drift slowly to the mouth of the lagoon and eventually join the ocean. Visitors usually take guided glacier hikes to experience the wonder of these deep blue ice caves.
