Esja Mountain, Iceland – Around 4 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2017, three men were caught in an avalanche while hiking at 600 meters in the Grafardalur Valley on Esja Mountain near Reykjavik in southwestern Iceland. One of the hikers was caught, buried, and killed in the avalanche.
Two of the three men managed to escape the avalanche. They alerted authorities at approximately 5 pm. An Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter flew those two hikers to the hospital with injuries.
It took 130-140 members of search and rescue, search dogs, and snowmobiles until around 8pm to find the 3rd man (IcelandReview.com). That’s roughly four hours after the accident occurred. He did not survive.
Esja Mountain is 914 meters and is part of a volcanic mountain range. The popular hike is located 10 km north of Reykjavik. Jonas Gudmundsson with the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue notes that “avalanches on Esja are not uncommon” (IceNews.is)
