1 Tourist Dead, 2 Missing After Sudden Ice Cave Collapse During Tour

A tourist has died and a further two are missing after an accident at an ice cave in southern Iceland.

On Sunday, Aug. 25, local police force Lögreglan á Suðurlandi confirmed a group of 25 people from several nationalities had been visiting the Breidamerkurjökull glacier when an ice cave collapsed, per a Facebook post.

“A large number of rescuers and responders have participated in the operation,” the translated post read, adding that conditions were “difficult” and the search had been postponed until Monday morning.

The post stated that one person who had been “seriously injured” was transported by helicopter to Landspitali University Hospital but was in stable condition, while another person was pronounced dead at the scene.

A previous Facebook post confirmed police received the call shortly before 3 p.m. local time, and that the group had been with a tour guide.

“Others who were in the group are uninjured and are being taken to a mass aid center. Rescue operations are being carried out at the scene,” the translated post stated.

Local police chief Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson said, per BBC News, “The conditions are very difficult on the ground.”

“It’s hard to get equipment there… It’s bad. Everything is being done by hand,” Rúnarsson added.

The outlet stated that Rúnarsson said while speaking on Icelandic TV that there were no signs to suggest that the tour should not have taken place on Sunday, and that the weather was “fair.”

“Ice cave tours happen almost the whole year,” the officer said, according to the BBC.

“These are experienced and powerful mountain guides who run these trips. It’s always possible to be unlucky. I trust these people to assess the situation — when it’s safe or not safe to go, and good work has been done there over time. This is a living land, so anything can happen,” Rúnarsson shared.

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Per the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV), a tourist, who did not want to be named, said the cave was about 3-5 meters deep. He said his group heard a crash approximately 10 minutes after they left, but they didn’t see more about the incident until they returned to their hotel.

The outlet added that rescuers have been “searching for the missing people by hand, as machinery cannot be used for this search,” adding that “50 to 60” people were already searching for those missing just before 9:30 a.m. local time on Monday morning.

The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and the Landsbjörg rescue agency didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.

Per the U.S. Geological Survey, the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue is “one of the largest in Iceland [and] flows from Vatnajökull,” which is the country’s “largest glacier.”