Tourists Walk On Ice Floe, May Have Death Wish

A group of tourists were photographed walking on ice floes at the glacial lagoon Jökulsárlón in southeast Iceland yesterday.

“Took this picture by Jökulsárlón today and wanted to share in light of the discourse these past few days,” writes Gylfi Blöndal in the Facebook group Bakland Ferðaþjónustunnar (The Back Rooms of the Tourist Industry). “It’s absolutely outrageous and there were also people walking around with children between 10 and 12 years old right before I managed to snap the picture.”

The discourse that Gylfi refers to in his Facebook post is that of tourist safety in light of a recent fatal and tragic accident at Reynisfjara beach where a tourist was pulled out to sea.

Despite signs and verbal warnings from tour guides many tourists deviate from walking paths at Reynisfjara beach and tempt fate by walking on ice floes at Jökulsárlón – sometimes with children in tow.

Needless to say this is extremely dangerous and can be fatal in the event that a person on an ice floe slip and fall in the water. Not to mention, ice floes can drift off and tourists have in the past even been stranded on them.

Many natural sites in Iceland are much more dangerous than they appear and it is important to heed warnings by tour guides and signs posted at these location, not only for your own sake but for the sake of those sent to rescue you.