A container was set on fire in the Westmann Islands, south Iceland, yesterday. This is the fourth deliberately set fire in the islands this month and the 11th in six years.
Fire fighters arrived at the scene and managed to put out the fire, but everything inside the container was destroyed. Fréttabladid reports.
On December 16 a cistern at a fishmeal factory was set on fire. Five tons of acetic acid were stored in the cistern so a chemical accident was feared. Four fires in total have been reported in the Westmann Islands this month.
On December 9, 2000 the fish factory in the Westmann Islands was destroyed after being set on fire. Since then, intentional fires have been reported in the islands almost every December, 11 in total.
Local detective Tryggvi Kr. Ólafsson told Fréttabladid that the police are doing everything in their power to find the arsonist, but so far, with no luck. The Westmann Islands police are being assisted by Reykjavík police to track down the arsonist.
Inhabitants in the Westmann Islands are worried and feel insecure, local hairdresser Viktor Ragnarsson said. He said many have developed their own theories about who the arsonist might be, but none of them were based on concrete evidence.
