One of the founders of the tour company which led a group of tourists to an ice cave where an ice wall collapse claimed one life and injured another has been fired from the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG). This was disclosed in an announcement from the board.
“In light of events last [S]unday, the AIMG had a board meeting on Monday 26th of [A]ugust at 12pm,” the statement reads. “The decision was made that the AIMG secretary, Mike Reid is leaving the board along with resigning from his duties as an AIMG instructor.”
Safety and responsibility
As reported, an ice wall collapsed while a group was being led by Ice Pick Journeys, resulting in the death of one man and serious injuries to a pregnant woman, who is reportedly recovering well. Shortly thereafter, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association (SAF) discussed the matter in an interview, saying in part that most tour companies do not conduct these tours in the summertime due to safety reasons, even if some ice caves are reputedly safe year-round.
It had been reported that the area where this accident occurred had been advised against, on account of recent glacial movements over the summer that could create dangerous conditions.
He added that next steps will include asking whether or not ice cave tours should be permitted in the summer, but pointed out that Vatnajökull National Park has issued year-round work permits to tour companies, and so tour companies have been operating in the area in the summer for many years now, which includes ice cave tours.
“What matters now is that we all unite on this issue,” he said in part. “Everyone should take part in this. The government, the national park, and private companies” to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
Government taking action
For their part, Vatnajökull National Park issued a statement thanking first responders for “who worked under extremely challenging conditions, as well as others who assisted in the operations,” and expressed “deep regrets” for the tragedy.
Those wishing to conduct tours within the national park are required to have their own safety plans, must be licensed operators by the Icelandic Tourist Board, and must meet quality standards for ice caves. Ice Pic Journeys was not included in the sample of companies that the Icelandic Tourist Board requested safety plans from, and director Arnar Már Ólafsson said that expanding their scope from a sample of companies to all companies is under consideration.
For now, ice cave tours in the summer have been suspended by the national park while the government forms a task force to investigate why this particular tour went forward despite hazard warnings. Commenting on the matter following a government meeting, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said in part:
“At first glance, it seems we have a decent regulatory framework concerning insurance, education, safety measures, and similar matters. The national park issues the permits, and I find it concerning that permits were issued during a time when the risk assessment indicated that the situation was not without danger.”
As it stands now, investigations are ongoing, and new regulations regarding ice cave tours in the summertime are likely to be coming soon.
