Twelve horses drown in icy lake
It is not known why the twelve horses all went onto the ice at Bessastaðir at once. Their bodies are still frozen underneath the ice. mbl.is/Ómar Óskarsson
Twelve horses were found drowned at Bessastaðir lake, near Reykjavik on Sunday morning. The horses seem to have all walked onto the ice and fallen through it during the storm last Tuesday.
The horses were kept on the land by Íshestar and seven of the horses belonged to Íshestar and five to members of equitation club Sóti. Bessastaðir is the residence of the President of Iceland.
"They seem to have wandered onto the ice which collapsed from their weight. It's just a terrible accident," said Einar Þór Jóhannsson, manager of the Íshestar stables. Someone had gone to check on the horses last weekend and Jóhannsson believes it likely that the accident occured on Tuesday during the storm.
"The horses were being herded on Saturday when it came to light that some of them were missing. A search for them began immediately but it wasn't until on Sunday morning when the Icelandic coastguard helicopter on patrol flew over the area that they were found, frozen underneath the ice. "
Jóhannsson says that the emotional distress from the accident is greater than the financial damage. "Of course we've lost horses before but twelve at the same time, it's completely unique."
Getting the bodies of the horses out of the frozen lake has proven difficult. Jóhansson explains that they want to bury the animals before Christmas. Helicopter company Reykjavik Helicopters has offered their services to help with hoisting them out today.
