Government officials and landowners met Tuesday evening and agreed to install an alarm system on the beach at Reynisfjara to alert visitors about dangerous conditions, reports Vísir.
This decision comes after a tourist was caught by one of the area’s notorious sneaker waves and died earlier this month. The tragic accident hasn’t been the only one at Reynisfjara, though. Vísir reports there have been 12 serious emergency calls to the beach since 2014, and of those, five people have died.
Representatives from the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the Icelandic Road Administration, and the Civil Protection Department of South Iceland presented a risk assessment for the area during the meeting. Furthermore, a consultation group will include representatives of those offices, as well as landowners, the search and rescue group Landsbjörg, the municipality of Mýrdalshreppur, and the Icelandic Tourist Board. The consultation group will create a timed action plan and submit its proposals to Minister of Tourism Lilja Alfreðsdóttir no later than September 30.
Director of Tourism Skarphéðinn Berg Steinarsson told Vísir that the meeting went well, and everyone is very willing to cooperate to ensure the safety of tourists in the area.
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