UPDATED: Major Search Underway For Missing Swimmer

Around 17:00 on May 29, the police received a report about a person in the sea near Fiskislóð in Reykjavík. A large-scale search was immediately launched but yielded no results and was called off around 22:00. The search is expected to resume around 14:00 this afternoon, after emergency teams have coordinated and planned the operation, reports Vísir.

“We’ll likely begin the search around 14:00 today, and we’ll have emergency responders from the same agencies as yesterday: ICE-SAR, the fire department, the Coast Guard, the Special Forces, and the Capital Area Police,” said Kristján Helgi Þráinsson, Deputy Chief Superintendent of the Capital Area Police’s Operations Department.

The current working theory is that the man became exhausted while swimming in the sea.

“We have a specific individual in mind,” said Kristján, when asked whether the police believe they know the man’s identity. The man is said to have been training for sea swimming and collapsed during the exercise, according to police information.

“This will be a major search today, just like yesterday. We intend to use all available personnel, equipment, and tools. Everything will be put into this. Hopefully, today will yield some results,” said Kristján Helgi.

UPDATED: First responders believe they have found the man who is thought to have collapsed in the sea off Fiskislóð yesterday. He showed no signs of life.

Baldur Ólafsson, a chief officer with the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, told Vísir that the Coast Guard helicopter flew over the same search area as yesterday, and the search soon proved successful. It is believed the body is that of the missing man, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.

ICE-SAR, the fire brigade, the Coast Guard, the Special Forces, and the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police all took part in the search.