The Icelandic police announced on Monday (August 26) that they have concluded the search for the collapsed ice cave on Sunday, stating that all members of the involved travel expedition have been found and the rescue operation has been completed.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Icelandic authorities initially launched a large-scale rescue operation with up to 200 rescue personnel searching barehanded through the ice to locate two missing travelers.
However, after checking the travel agency’s records, the police discovered that only 23 people participated in the ice cave tour instead of the initially presumed 25 individuals, confirming that no one was missing. Despite this, rescue teams continued their search until all collapsed ice was removed to ensure no one was overlooked.
The police stated, “The on-site police supervisor declared that all ice believed to have fallen on people has been removed. To the best of our knowledge, no one is trapped under the ice.”
The rescue operation began around 3 p.m. local time on Sunday when Icelandic authorities received reports of an ice cave collapse on the Breidamerkurjokull glacier in the southeast of the country. A man died on the spot, and an injured woman was airlifted to a hospital in the capital, Reykjavik. Police confirmed that both victims are U.S. citizens.
According to Iceland’s national broadcaster RUV, due to the dangerous conditions, search efforts were temporarily halted during the night but resumed around 7 a.m. on Monday. Video footage showed rescue personnel working inside two large craters surrounded by ice on the Breidamerkurjokull glacier.
By the end of the day, rescue teams were confident that no one else was missing. The police stated that there were “misleading information” regarding the number of people on the trip.
The Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides called for a comprehensive investigation and enhanced supervision of ice cave tours. The association emphasized that glacier travel can be very dangerous, especially during the warm summer months.
The Icelandic Tourist Board is drafting a report for the government to discuss regulations related to glacier travel, particularly ice cave excursions, and will submit the report for parliamentary deliberation.
Ice caves are popular tourist attractions in Iceland, where travel agencies offer visitors the opportunity to “explore the interior of glaciers” to witness the blue hues and “amazing patterns” of the glaciers.
Iceland, an island nation in the North Atlantic, is situated near the southern edge of the Arctic Circle, with glaciers covering approximately 11% of its area.
The rugged terrain of the Breidamerkurjokull glacier makes it extremely difficult to transport rescue equipment and personnel, leading rescue teams to use chainsaws to cut through the ice.