Police in South Iceland has published the identity and circumstances of a fatal accident in a Hofsjökull ice cave on Wednesday. The man who died was an experienced guide and driver, Ingi Már Aldan Grétarsson, born in 1954. He leaves behind a wife, three adult children and five grandchildren. He was traveling with a Belgian couple when the accident took place.
Initial reports suggested the man might have been a hiker, but he was an experienced guide who was well liked and enjoyed the respect of his colleagues and the Icelandic mountain truck community.
Read more: Hiker who went missing while exploring a Hofsjökull ice cave found dead
Appears to have done everything correctly
According to a statement from the police the man entered the cave twice. He first entered accompanying the Belgian couple and other travellers who had visited the cave on their own. Ingi Már was carrying a gas detector to monitor the level of dangerous gases in the cave. The readings on the gas detectors showed low levels of poisonous geothermal gases in the cave.
The IMO and the Police in South Iceland had issued warnings to people not to enter the cave without gas detectors to monitor the levels of H2S and other poisonous gases which build up in ice caves formed by geothermal activity.
Read more: Why are geothermal ice caves dangerous? What is known of the cave where a hiker died yesterday?
After having guided the people around the ice cave and escorted them safely out of the cave, Ingi Már entered the cave a second time for to check something or fetch some item which the group had forgotten in the cave. According to the Police in South Iceland the group waited for a while, but when Ingi Már did not return some of the people decided to go after him.
Sudden rise in H2S levels
The people then re-entered the cave carrying the gas detector. The detector now showed a dramatically elevated levels of H2S and other poisonous gases. Rather than enter the deadly air in the cave the people then requested assistance.
Due to the remoteness of the ice cave and bad weather, including very limited visibility, it took ICE-SAR several hours to arrive at the scene. The Search and Rescue teams also had to carry their own oxygen into the cave. The ICE-SAR team finally found the man lying at the bottom of a long ice slope next to one of the walls of the cave. Readings showed very high levels of poisonous gases in the area where the man was found.
The man appeared to have passed out or slipped on the ice, sliding down the icy slope. The cause of death has not been determined conclusively.
Police in South Iceland has published the identity and circumstances of a fatal accident in a Hofsjökull ice cave on Wednesday. The man who died was an experienced guide and driver, Ingi Már Aldan Grétarsson, born in 1954. He leaves behind a wife, three adult children and five grandchildren. He was traveling with a Belgian couple when the accident took place.
Initial reports suggested the man might have been a hiker, but he was an experienced guide who was well liked and enjoyed the respect of his colleagues and the Icelandic mountain truck community.
Read more: Hiker who went missing while exploring a Hofsjökull ice cave found dead
Appears to have done everything correctly
According to a statement from the police the man entered the cave twice. He first entered accompanying the Belgian couple and other travellers who had visited the cave on their own. Ingi Már was carrying a gas detector to monitor the level of dangerous gases in the cave. The readings on the gas detectors showed low levels of poisonous geothermal gases in the cave.
The IMO and the Police in South Iceland had issued warnings to people not to enter the cave without gas detectors to monitor the levels of H2S and other poisonous gases which build up in ice caves formed by geothermal activity.
Read more: Why are geothermal ice caves dangerous? What is known of the cave where a hiker died yesterday?
After having guided the people around the ice cave and escorted them safely out of the cave, Ingi Már entered the cave a second time for to check something or fetch some item which the group had forgotten in the cave. According to the Police in South Iceland the group waited for a while, but when Ingi Már did not return some of the people decided to go after him.
Sudden rise in H2S levels
The people then re-entered the cave carrying the gas detector. The detector now showed a dramatically elevated levels of H2S and other poisonous gases. Rather than enter the deadly air in the cave the people then requested assistance.
Due to the remoteness of the ice cave and bad weather, including very limited visibility, it took ICE-SAR several hours to arrive at the scene. The Search and Rescue teams also had to carry their own oxygen into the cave. The ICE-SAR team finally found the man lying at the bottom of a long ice slope next to one of the walls of the cave. Readings showed very high levels of poisonous gases in the area where the man was found.
The man appeared to have passed out or slipped on the ice, sliding down the icy slope. The cause of death has not been determined conclusively.
