New BBC programme on Icelandic search and rescue
Photo: Iceland Monitor/Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson
The BBC World Service has posted a new programme looking at the splendid work of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue.
“ICE-SAR is an elite national emergency militia with a gallant reputation in Iceland,” reads the BBC website. “In place of an army, its skilled volunteers, all unpaid, are expertly trained, well equipped, self-financed and self-sufficient. They perform rescues by sea, land and air and contend with earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, storms and the island’s brutal, unpredictable weather.”
The programme focuses on the journey of journalist Paul Smith to the Icelandic Highlands during peak tourist season to find out how is ICE-SAR rescue volunteers are responding to the enormous strain generated by a surge in tourism.
You can listen to the programme of the BBC World Service website here.
