Search and rescue teams in North Iceland have been called out to search for two men who are lost west of Askja volcano in the northeastern highlands. They started hiking from Strengjabrekka last weekend and were planning to walk to Svartárvatn lake.
Yesterday afternoon the hikers contacted the emergency hotline 112 and stated that they were lost and their GPS monitor broken. They couldn’t provide reliable information about their location, only that they believed that they had walked 30 km (18.6 miles) and were close to a river.
Weather conditions in the area were cold and foggy but the men were well-equipped and had a tent, a press release from search and rescue association ICE-SAR reads.
On Sunday, search and rescue teams in South Iceland were called out to search for a lost hiker on Fimmvörðuháls pass, who reported to 112 that he was on the marked path but that conditions were foggy and he had become tired and afraid. Shortly afterwards his phone went dead.
However, members of travel association Útivist, who were located in the cabin on Fimmvörðuháls, found the man quickly and brought him to the cabin. He was unharmed and was later taken to the nearest town, ruv.is reports.
The weather is cold in most parts of the country today with sleet in Akureyri, North Iceland, and snowfall in Flateyri and Bolungarvík in the West Fjords, mbl.is reports.
There are winter conditions on several mountain passes. Updates on road conditions are available on vegag.is and weather forecasts on vedur.is. Tourists, especially hikers, are encouraged to register their travel plans on safetravel.is.
