Circumstances Of Accident That Lead To Death Of Couple & Child Unknown

Last Friday, a couple in their thirties and their five year old daughter died in a tragic accident when their car fell into the harbour at Árskógssandur in the north of Iceland when attempting to board a ferry.

Since then police have tried to puzzle together the chain of event that lead to their deaths.

RÚV reports that it took divers over an hour to get the three out of the car and that they were pronounced dead when they arrived at the hospital in Akureyri.

Circumstances unknown

According to witnesses, the car was driven at an appropriate speed, but missed the ferry ramp and it did not seem that the driver had attempted to brake. This lead to the car driving off the pier, flipping over and hitting the water, which was around 3° Celsius at the time.

Jóhannes Sigfússon, deputy police chief for Northeast Iceland Police, said that the investigation was ongoing.

“We are investigating the vehicle that fell into the ocean and autopsies have yet to be performed,” Jóhannes told RÚV. “We are still investigating the scene and there are many factors unknown. We can not disclose as of yet how the accident happened.”

Jóhannes said that the weather had been bad at the time and that onlookers were unable to locate the car in the four metre deep water. Furthermore, he says that no equipment was onsite to attempt rescue operations.

The couple was Polish and lived on the island of Hrísey, and were on their way home when the accident happened. They leave behind a two year old daughter that is currently in the care of relatives. Residents of Hrísey have started a campaign to raise money for the family of the deceased.