Two May Face Criminal Charges In Mountaineers Of Iceland Case

Two employees of Mountaineers of Iceland—a regular employee and a member of management—may face criminal charges for an ill-fated snowmobile tour atop Langjökull glacier taken last January, RÚV reports. Police have concluded their investigation of the incident, and now the matter is in the hands of prosecution authorities.

As reported last January, about 200 rescue workers were deployed to rescue the tourists from atop the glacier, who were trapped in the midst of a blizzard which had been forecast to be arriving at least a day ahead of time. Several of those rescued suffered from frostbite, with some fearing for their lives, and the company publicly admitted having made a mistake in the matter.

Oddur Árnason, the police superintendent for South Iceland, told reporters that police are duty-bound to investigate all accidents, whether it is believed that a crime took place or not. Their investigations in this matter concerned determining whether or not Mountaineers of Iceland had taken any unnecessary risks and whether their actions in this matter could be considered criminal.

Police conducted a total of 17 interviews in connection to the incident, with 61 registered as connected to the matter in some way. Oddur confirmed that two people from the company may be facing criminal charges. That, ultimately, will be up to prosecution authorities to decide, and police investigations into the matter are concluded.

The incident is similar to one which occurred in 2017, when an Australian couple were left stranded from seven hours during a Mountaineers of Iceland snowmobile tour, which also took place on Langjökull.