Picture Story: Guardians Of The Geldingadalsgos

Iceland’s civil defence relies heavily on local search and rescue (SAR) teams, highly-trained volunteers who undertake a huge range of tasks from searching for missing people to mountain rescue and disaster response.

They’ve been particularly busy these past few months, helping visitors at the ever-shifting and potentially dangerous Geldingadalsgos volcano site. The Grapevine joined a search and rescue team from the nearby town of Kópavogur for an evening patrol.

Kópavogur crew

The hike to site

Volunteers and volcano visitors

Squad safety stuff

One last look before we go

Burgers from the tailgate BBQ

The sun sets on another successful shift

Like the sun, the SAR teams will be back on site tomorrow – photo by John Pearson

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