Two men stranded on Vatnajökull

Two tourists who are hiking on Vatnajökull glacier on cross country skis have just called emergency services for assistance. Earlier this week the men refused to accompany rescue teams from the glacier when their companion got sick and was transported to safety. 

According to Friðrik Jónas Friðriksson, director of the Hornafjörður search and rescue team in east Iceland, rescue team members went onto the glacier on Tuesday when they received an emergency call to retrieve a sick man from the glacier. The rescue team members informed the two remaining men that the weather forecast was very bad for the next few days. The two men had however refused to leave the glacier and also refused to move further down on the glacier. 

This morning, the two men called the rescue team for assistance as they had lost their tent and all their equipment due to bad weather. They are now located some 35 km into the glacier. Current weather conditions are very bad and the rescue team is on their way in two snowtrucks to retrieve them.