Despite the tragic death of a Chinese traveller on Reynisfjara beach yesterday morning, and repeated close calls, the beach will not be closed to the public, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV reports. Instead police in South Iceland will post a permanent guard at the beach to ensure travellers are better aware of the dangers.
Read more: Developing: Traveller swept to sea in Reynisfjara beach found dead
Yesterday the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Industry and Commerce, in collaboration with the Police in South Iceland, decided that police would maintain a permanent presence on the beach. According to an announcement the guard will be posted today.
The chief of Police in South Iceland told the local news site visir.is that the police has been worried about the beach for a long time. The beach sees a constant stream of visitors, day and night. Posting a permanent police guard at the beach will allow police to prevent accidents, rather than only respond to emergencies. “A lot of these people have never seen black sands before, and they have no experience with the strong currents that we have here at the south coast, so they just don’t realize the power of the current.”
Read more: Police, ICE-SAR looking into how to save travellers who refuse to heed warnings in Reynisfjara beach
The Ministry of the Interior is currently conducting a safety assessment of popular tourist destination in order to evaluate what steps can be taken to increase safety. The assessment includes a list of destinations where it is particularly urgent that safety be increased. According to RÚV Reynisfjara beach is at the top of this list.
Despite the tragic death of a Chinese traveller on Reynisfjara beach yesterday morning, and repeated close calls, the beach will not be closed to the public, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV reports. Instead police in South Iceland will post a permanent guard at the beach to ensure travellers are better aware of the dangers.
Read more: Developing: Traveller swept to sea in Reynisfjara beach found dead
Yesterday the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Industry and Commerce, in collaboration with the Police in South Iceland, decided that police would maintain a permanent presence on the beach. According to an announcement the guard will be posted today.
The chief of Police in South Iceland told the local news site visir.is that the police has been worried about the beach for a long time. The beach sees a constant stream of visitors, day and night. Posting a permanent police guard at the beach will allow police to prevent accidents, rather than only respond to emergencies. “A lot of these people have never seen black sands before, and they have no experience with the strong currents that we have here at the south coast, so they just don’t realize the power of the current.”
Read more: Police, ICE-SAR looking into how to save travellers who refuse to heed warnings in Reynisfjara beach
The Ministry of the Interior is currently conducting a safety assessment of popular tourist destination in order to evaluate what steps can be taken to increase safety. The assessment includes a list of destinations where it is particularly urgent that safety be increased. According to RÚV Reynisfjara beach is at the top of this list.
