Visitors continue to ignore warnings against venturing too close to the shoreline at Reynisfjara beach, south Iceland. Local guide, Magnús H. Jóhannsson, captured photographs that show the horrifying moment six people barely manage to escape a freak wave at the popular tourist spot. The wave swept an older man off his feet, but fellow tourists manage to assist him to safety.
According to the National Broadcasting Service, the incident took place on Saturday – only days after local media reported four travellers getting caught in a powerful undercurrent, including a young Asian woman who narrowly escaped being swept into the sea by a rogue wave.
Read more: Make your trip to Iceland a safe one with a little pre-planning
“This is becoming ridiculous. Something needs to be done. People keep moving closer and closer to the shoreline, ignoring all warnings, and then before you know it, they are hit by a large wave,” said Magnús, who runs tour operator Mudshark. “These accidents happen without warning. The people were all standing there taking photographs and two minutes later they’re running for their lives.”
The inky-black sands of South Iceland are known to be an extremely dangerous place.
“It’s all too common that people venture too close to the shoreline. There are few places in the world where the undertow current is as strong as in Reynisfjara,” explains Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir, head of Katla Information Centre in Vík. There have been numerous accounts where foreign visitors have been caught in a strong undertow in Reynisfjara and in 2007 a foreign woman was swept into the ocean by a large wave and lost her life.
Visitors continue to ignore warnings against venturing too close to the shoreline at Reynisfjara beach, south Iceland. Local guide, Magnús H. Jóhannsson, captured photographs that show the horrifying moment six people barely manage to escape a freak wave at the popular tourist spot. The wave swept an older man off his feet, but fellow tourists manage to assist him to safety.
According to the National Broadcasting Service, the incident took place on Saturday – only days after local media reported four travellers getting caught in a powerful undercurrent, including a young Asian woman who narrowly escaped being swept into the sea by a rogue wave.
Read more: Make your trip to Iceland a safe one with a little pre-planning
“This is becoming ridiculous. Something needs to be done. People keep moving closer and closer to the shoreline, ignoring all warnings, and then before you know it, they are hit by a large wave,” said Magnús, who runs tour operator Mudshark. “These accidents happen without warning. The people were all standing there taking photographs and two minutes later they’re running for their lives.”
The inky-black sands of South Iceland are known to be an extremely dangerous place.
“It’s all too common that people venture too close to the shoreline. There are few places in the world where the undertow current is as strong as in Reynisfjara,” explains Bjarnheiður Hallsdóttir, head of Katla Information Centre in Vík. There have been numerous accounts where foreign visitors have been caught in a strong undertow in Reynisfjara and in 2007 a foreign woman was swept into the ocean by a large wave and lost her life.
