Search and Rescue units and the coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched on Sunday evening after what were believed to be emergency flares were spotted over the coast of Reykjanes peninsula in South-West Iceland. The flares turned out to be illegal fireworks.
The local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports that the Coast Guard received a report from an eyewitness in the town of Reykjanesbær on Reykjanes peninsula who had seen what he believed to be emergency flares. According to the witness the flares seemed to have been shot up near the village of Hafnir on the west coast of Reykjanes. The Coast Guard immediately dispatched its helicopter and notified local Search and Rescue Units.
All reports of flares are taken extremely seriously by the Coast Guard, as these are among the most important means available to fishermen to call for help in the case of an emergency. After an exhaustive search of the entire coastline it was determined the lights had in fact been fireworks, rather than distress flares.
The Coast Guard and ICE-SAR used the occasion to remind people that it is illegal to shoot up fireworks after January 6. This ban is in place to ensure that fireworks are not mistaken as emergency flares.
Search and Rescue units and the coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched on Sunday evening after what were believed to be emergency flares were spotted over the coast of Reykjanes peninsula in South-West Iceland. The flares turned out to be illegal fireworks.
The local newspaper Morgunblaðið reports that the Coast Guard received a report from an eyewitness in the town of Reykjanesbær on Reykjanes peninsula who had seen what he believed to be emergency flares. According to the witness the flares seemed to have been shot up near the village of Hafnir on the west coast of Reykjanes. The Coast Guard immediately dispatched its helicopter and notified local Search and Rescue Units.
All reports of flares are taken extremely seriously by the Coast Guard, as these are among the most important means available to fishermen to call for help in the case of an emergency. After an exhaustive search of the entire coastline it was determined the lights had in fact been fireworks, rather than distress flares.
The Coast Guard and ICE-SAR used the occasion to remind people that it is illegal to shoot up fireworks after January 6. This ban is in place to ensure that fireworks are not mistaken as emergency flares.
