An avalanche fell in the slopes of the mountain Esja around 4pm on Saturday, sweeping with it three men that were hiking on the mountain. Two of the men managed to get out of the avalanche of their own accord and were taken injured to hospital but a massive search and rescue was mounted for the third one. He was found around four hours later, and was deceased.
The search and rescue was massive in a difficult location in a steep valley in the mountain range of Esja, with over 130 searching using search dogs, snowmobiles, drones and helicopters.
Updates will follow about the deceased, information has not been released.
The mountain Esja is 914 meters high siting about 10 km to the north of Reykjavik city. It’s not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range. A beloved and iconic mountain of the people of Reykjavik which frequent the mountain for hiking and enjoying the outdoors.
Jonas Gudmundsson with the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue told reporters that it was a cold day and volatile day, and a difficult situation to mount a rescue in the steep valley of Grafardalur. There were two avalanches yesterday in the slopes of Esja and this caused some confusion but the Search and Rescue mission went well and was swift and efficient, although it had the tragic ending. He went on to inform that avalanches in Esja are not uncommon. “Even if it’s our home mountain” he said, “its still a real mountain and commands respected as such”