Tourists slammed for 'idiotic' act at iconic beach
A group of tourists have been filmed scrambling to get out of the water at a dangerous beach after disregarding a tour guide’s advice.
Footage taken earlier this month shows a number of people ignoring tour guide Thorolfur Sævar Sæmundsson, going down to the shoreline of Iceland’s iconic Reynisfjara Beach.
The person filming the video can be heard yelling out “idiots” as the tourists are knocked around by rough waves.
“While the beach is safe 95 per cent of the time, sometimes we have high waves. People need to be careful,” Mr Sæmundsson told Storyful.
According to Icelandic news site Visir, first responders were called to Reynisfjara Beach to treat one tourist who sustained a shoulder injury and taken to hospital.
Located in the south of Iceland, Reynisfjara Beach is known for its black sand and in 1991 was voted as one of the top ten non-tropical beaches to visit on the planet by National Geographic.
However, according to Guide to Iceland, tourists visiting the beach must be made aware of the potential dangers, mainly due to the “sneaker-waves”.
“The rolling, roaring waves of Reynisfjara are particularly violent, often pushing far further up the beach than many would expect,” Guide to Iceland says.
“Aside from these sudden and dramatic shifts in the tide, the rip currents offshore are infamous for their strength and ability to drag helpless people out into the freezing cold open ocean.”
Visitors are advised to never turn their back on the water and keep at least three metres away from the water, even on a still day.
There have been a number of fatalities at Reynisfjara Beach over the past few years, the most recent being a German woman who died after she was swept into the ocean in January 2017, according to the Iceland Monitor.
The Iceland Monitor also reports signs were put up at the beach in 2016, however many tourists “do not notice or disregard the signs”.
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