“We came to search until we find him.”
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue teams are frantically searching for an unlucky man who has reportedly fallen into a crack in the Earth that opened up following the eruption of a volcano southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavík.
Late last year, tens of thousands of earthquakes rocked the Reykjanes Peninsula, culminating in the eruption of a massive volcano that spewed gigantic plumes of lava into the sky.
Now, according to Icelandic newspaper Morgunbladid, a man who was filling a crevasse in the affected coastal fishing town of Grindavik tumbled into the opening, triggering a 200-person search and rescue operation.
Swallowed Whole
It sounds like something out of a horror movie.
“We came to search until we find him,” local police chief Úlfar Lúðvíksson told the newspaper, as translated by Google.
Worse yet, it’s still unclear how deep or long the crack itself is.
“But the crack is deep,” Lúðvíksson added. Some have estimated that it could be up to around 100 feet deep.
Rescuers are now slowly being lowered into the crack inside a special basket.
“Where he fell down, it’s just a small hole, but when you get down there, there’s a lot more space,” rescue team member Jón Þór told Morgunbladid.
The entire town of Grindavik had to be evacuated in early November after massive cracks formed in the ground, releasing ominous quantities of steam.
Fortunately, lava flows from the ensuing volcanic eruption have spread into an uninhabited area of the peninsula. Officials have also walled off the town, as well as a nearby power plant.
But the nightmare is far from over, and search and rescue teams could be racing against the clock. According to a Tuesday statement by the Icelandic Meteorological Office, there’s an “increased risk of an eruption in the coming days.”
More on the eruption: Authorities Ask Tourists to Stop Flocking to Site of Volcanic Eruption
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