Search and rescue units in south Iceland have managed to locate a female cross country skier who was reported missing on Friday. The woman, who is an experienced trekker, had found shelter in an emergency lodge near Hvannagil before the weather began to deteriorate on Friday.
The woman had planned to trek around Mýrdalsjökull glacier in the central highlands and set off last Tuesday. She was well clothed and equipped with a SPOT trace asset, a small device that automatically sends a text or an email with one’s coordinates every twelve hours, and had enough provisions to last a week.
Read more: 5 essentials for a winter visit to Iceland
The woman’s SPOT device stopped sending information on Friday and a search was launched the following day. However, rescue units were unable to reach the edge of the glacier due to severe weather.
“The weather is bat-shit crazy and it hits you from all directions,” Svanur Sævar Lárusson, operation manager of the search and rescue units in south Iceland, told the National Broadcasting Service, yesterday, Sunday, when the search was still ongoing.
“The snowcats are currently soldiering on to Fljótshlíð, but haven’t gotten very far due to the storm. It’s too windy for them to continue.”
Damaging winds and snow drift battered most parts of the country this past weekend. The strongest gusts of wind measured 63 m/s (141 mph) by Sandfell in Öræfi, south Iceland.
Search and rescue units in south Iceland have managed to locate a female cross country skier who was reported missing on Friday. The woman, who is an experienced trekker, had found shelter in an emergency lodge near Hvannagil before the weather began to deteriorate on Friday.
The woman had planned to trek around Mýrdalsjökull glacier in the central highlands and set off last Tuesday. She was well clothed and equipped with a SPOT trace asset, a small device that automatically sends a text or an email with one’s coordinates every twelve hours, and had enough provisions to last a week.
Read more: 5 essentials for a winter visit to Iceland
The woman’s SPOT device stopped sending information on Friday and a search was launched the following day. However, rescue units were unable to reach the edge of the glacier due to severe weather.
“The weather is bat-shit crazy and it hits you from all directions,” Svanur Sævar Lárusson, operation manager of the search and rescue units in south Iceland, told the National Broadcasting Service, yesterday, Sunday, when the search was still ongoing.
“The snowcats are currently soldiering on to Fljótshlíð, but haven’t gotten very far due to the storm. It’s too windy for them to continue.”
Damaging winds and snow drift battered most parts of the country this past weekend. The strongest gusts of wind measured 63 m/s (141 mph) by Sandfell in Öræfi, south Iceland.
