Almost met his demise at Þingvellir Lake
It is beautiful in Þingvellir in the wintertime, but at the same time people need to be extra careful and not walk outside of the designated paths. mbl.is/Ómar Óskarsson
A visitor visiting Þingvellir National Park in Þingvellir yesterday was in danger of losing his life when he walked along the bank of the Öxará River where the river flows into Þingvellir Lake.
Snow was covering a watery gorge and as he passed over it he fell down into the abyss of the gorge into the icecold water. This is reported on the National Park website.
The source says that the water gorge is very deep and the person had fallen quite deep into it. At the same time, the temperature was freezing cold, or about minus 18 degrees Celsius, or -0.4 Fahrenheit.
By sheer luck he was dragged out of the water
The visitor’s fellow traveller, and another visitor nearby, came to the rescue and after a while were able to get him shivering out of the water. They finally managed to get him into their parked car, which was parked a bit away.
“Both were shocked, but they got back home in cold and wet, but they informed the park officials as they headed home to call attention to this dangerous area,” is reported on the site.
Countless gorges in the National Park
The national park can be a dangerous place when the snow has been pouring down as it has recently and it can cover gorges that are numerous in the area.
“For this reason, the National Park would strongly encourage visitors to be extra careful when walking in the park and not to step outside of the park paths and stay in visible areas.”
Staff will examine the circumstances of this particular gorge and assess the situation and how it will be dealt with further.
