Rescuers are searching for a man who fell into a crack in the ground that opened after a volcano erupted in Iceland last month.
The man was working to fill cracks formed by earthquakes and volcanic activity in the town of Grindavik, which was evacuated in November, according to local media.
Hundreds of people had been searching for him since Wednesday, but were forced to stop shortly before midnight on Thursday due to a rockslide.
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December: The volcano produces spectacular lava flows
“In the middle of the night, we had to stop the search because we could not guarantee the safety of those who were working in the rift,” Olvar Ludviksson, police chief in southern Iceland, told local media.
“There was a rockslide at the top.”
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Reports stated that work is being done to expand the narrow opening of the rift, which can only accommodate two people at a time.
Earlier, Ludviksson told Icelandic national radio RUV on Thursday that the conditions were “very difficult and demanding.”
“It's deep inside. It extends dozens of meters to the bottom. There is water below the work area where rescuers are working,” he said.
“There are two guys who go down in a basket and stay down for about 10 minutes. Then they come up and the other two take over.”
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Intense seismic activity in Iceland peaked in A Spectacular eruption in DecemberMolten rock emanated from cracks in the ground on the Reykjanes Peninsula after a crack about two miles long appeared and grew rapidly.
