Undercover trio defies volcano travel ban 19. september 2014 13:05 Three menn that have been charged for trespassing at the Holuhraun volcano site will be facing heavy fines for their actions. They remain undeterred, however, went there again a few days ago. This time they used disguises and reached the site unopposed. They had their jeeps labeled "Icelandic georesearch" and put on helmets and vests. The trio had little to say to our reporter, but they have much more vocal about the matter on the Facebook group "Ferðafrelsi" (Travel freedom). The social media group discusses a wide variety of topics related to tourists and tourism in Iceland, and comments from the trio can be found where they condemn the fact that the travel ban north of Vatnajökull only applies to a certain group of people. Jóhannes Jensson, one of the trio, has said that all three of them were experienced travelers and in possession of all necessary gear and equipment for journeys such as this. As a result he finds it inconceivable that a travel ban in the area doesn't seem to apply to everyone that wants to go to the volcano."Absolutely ridiculous" "It seems perfectly fine that almost everyone else is allowed to be in a restricted area. Self-proclaimed reporters and photographers, foreign students, drivers, various assistants and of course some close friends and acquaintances. These people seem to be allowed to wander all over a declared danger zone, drive off-road, take selfies, act like paparazzis and give everyone else the finger. They're often driving ill-equipped cars and there are cases where they'd have to leave them behind en-route, either stuck in the sand or out of gas," is among the things that Jóhannes has written on Facebook. "It's absolutely ridiculous," he says to our reporter.Unhappy tourists Another of the trio, Gunnar Árnason, shares his experience of having been picked up in the highlands of Iceland by the Icelandic SWAT team. "It's an interesting experience to be picked up by SWAT team members wearing bulletproof vests who flew in on the Coast Guard's helicopter into the highlands of Iceland and being treated by a criminal because I wanted to enjoy Iceland's nature," writes Gunnar. Travel agencies also express annoyance over the situation, and there are examples of agencies selling trips up to the volcano area, despite the travel ban. Jóhannes says that Icelandic tourists are unhappy about missing out on the breathtaking experience of being close to an erupting volcano. Scientists, police and certain members of the media are the only ones who have been given partial access to the danger zone by Civil Protection during those times that travel bans are imposed, and all of this is subject to conditions set by Civil Protection.A statement from Civil Protection dating to September 12th states that the volcano area is highly unstable and the danger of floods due to sub-glacial eruptions is imminent. As a result the highland area north of the glacier has been closed to all non-essential personnel. Toxic fumes and lethal gas emissions are also a concern. As a result it is not safe to approach the area without gas masks and gas detectors. News in English Mest lesið Leggja til breytingar á gatnamótum í kjölfar banaslyss Innlent Lýst eftir Ólafi í Búlgaríu Innlent Fjallað um Skjöld Íslands í forsíðugrein stórblaðs Innlent Drengurinn fannst heill á húfi Innlent „Erfið stund en mikilvæg“ Innlent Samfélagið í molum eftir fráfall ungrar konu: „Við erum enn þá í áfalli“ Innlent Hvirfilbylur við Vatnsleysuströnd Innlent Maður talinn af eftir jarðfall Erlent Kjúklingaræktandi fær á baukinn en MAST líka Innlent Guðrún tilnefnir Ólaf Adolfsson sem formann þingflokksins Innlent Fleiri fréttir Þjóðin sé orðin þreytt á málþófi Tókst ekki að flýja lögreglu og var gómaður með þrjá hnífa og meint eiturlyf Leikskólabörn sungu með 89 ára harmonikuleikara í Garðabæ Skorar á verktaka að lækka íbúðaverð Björguðu ketti sem var fastur inni í Teslu Varnaðarorð sálfræðings, auðveldari leið inn á húsnæðismarkað og bangsakvöld Lýst eftir Ólafi í Búlgaríu Þyrlan kölluð út vegna beinbrotinnar göngukonu Vesturbæjarlaug opnar enn á ný Fjallað um Skjöld Íslands í forsíðugrein stórblaðs Skjálfti fannst í byggð Ólafur orðinn nýr þingflokksformaður Sjálfstæðisflokksins „Erfið stund en mikilvæg“ Kjötsúpu í boði á Hvolsvelli fyrir alla sem vilja Þorgerður á óformlegum fundi ESB Austurland í áfalli, uppstokkun í Valhöll og kjötsúpa fyrir alla Vann fyrir opnum tjöldum hjá bæði saksóknara og PPP Hvirfilbylur við Vatnsleysuströnd Framkvæmdir við Fjallaböðin í fullum gangi Leggja til breytingar á gatnamótum í kjölfar banaslyss Náðu fullum þrýstingi í nótt Drengurinn fannst heill á húfi Kjúklingaræktandi fær á baukinn en MAST líka Guðrún tilnefnir Ólaf Adolfsson sem formann þingflokksins Þyrla kölluð úr og ríflega hundrað björgunarsveitarmenn: Leita að týndum tólf ára dreng við Ölfusborgir Guðrún hrókerar í þingflokknum Leita að týndum tólf ára dreng í Ölfusborgum Hildur segir af sér til að forðast átök Samfélagið í molum eftir fráfall ungrar konu: „Við erum enn þá í áfalli“ Háskólinn í stað Hótel Sögu sem heyrir sögunni til Sjá meira
Three menn that have been charged for trespassing at the Holuhraun volcano site will be facing heavy fines for their actions. They remain undeterred, however, went there again a few days ago. This time they used disguises and reached the site unopposed. They had their jeeps labeled "Icelandic georesearch" and put on helmets and vests. The trio had little to say to our reporter, but they have much more vocal about the matter on the Facebook group "Ferðafrelsi" (Travel freedom). The social media group discusses a wide variety of topics related to tourists and tourism in Iceland, and comments from the trio can be found where they condemn the fact that the travel ban north of Vatnajökull only applies to a certain group of people. Jóhannes Jensson, one of the trio, has said that all three of them were experienced travelers and in possession of all necessary gear and equipment for journeys such as this. As a result he finds it inconceivable that a travel ban in the area doesn't seem to apply to everyone that wants to go to the volcano."Absolutely ridiculous" "It seems perfectly fine that almost everyone else is allowed to be in a restricted area. Self-proclaimed reporters and photographers, foreign students, drivers, various assistants and of course some close friends and acquaintances. These people seem to be allowed to wander all over a declared danger zone, drive off-road, take selfies, act like paparazzis and give everyone else the finger. They're often driving ill-equipped cars and there are cases where they'd have to leave them behind en-route, either stuck in the sand or out of gas," is among the things that Jóhannes has written on Facebook. "It's absolutely ridiculous," he says to our reporter.Unhappy tourists Another of the trio, Gunnar Árnason, shares his experience of having been picked up in the highlands of Iceland by the Icelandic SWAT team. "It's an interesting experience to be picked up by SWAT team members wearing bulletproof vests who flew in on the Coast Guard's helicopter into the highlands of Iceland and being treated by a criminal because I wanted to enjoy Iceland's nature," writes Gunnar. Travel agencies also express annoyance over the situation, and there are examples of agencies selling trips up to the volcano area, despite the travel ban. Jóhannes says that Icelandic tourists are unhappy about missing out on the breathtaking experience of being close to an erupting volcano. Scientists, police and certain members of the media are the only ones who have been given partial access to the danger zone by Civil Protection during those times that travel bans are imposed, and all of this is subject to conditions set by Civil Protection.A statement from Civil Protection dating to September 12th states that the volcano area is highly unstable and the danger of floods due to sub-glacial eruptions is imminent. As a result the highland area north of the glacier has been closed to all non-essential personnel. Toxic fumes and lethal gas emissions are also a concern. As a result it is not safe to approach the area without gas masks and gas detectors.
News in English Mest lesið Leggja til breytingar á gatnamótum í kjölfar banaslyss Innlent Lýst eftir Ólafi í Búlgaríu Innlent Fjallað um Skjöld Íslands í forsíðugrein stórblaðs Innlent Drengurinn fannst heill á húfi Innlent „Erfið stund en mikilvæg“ Innlent Samfélagið í molum eftir fráfall ungrar konu: „Við erum enn þá í áfalli“ Innlent Hvirfilbylur við Vatnsleysuströnd Innlent Maður talinn af eftir jarðfall Erlent Kjúklingaræktandi fær á baukinn en MAST líka Innlent Guðrún tilnefnir Ólaf Adolfsson sem formann þingflokksins Innlent Fleiri fréttir Þjóðin sé orðin þreytt á málþófi Tókst ekki að flýja lögreglu og var gómaður með þrjá hnífa og meint eiturlyf Leikskólabörn sungu með 89 ára harmonikuleikara í Garðabæ Skorar á verktaka að lækka íbúðaverð Björguðu ketti sem var fastur inni í Teslu Varnaðarorð sálfræðings, auðveldari leið inn á húsnæðismarkað og bangsakvöld Lýst eftir Ólafi í Búlgaríu Þyrlan kölluð út vegna beinbrotinnar göngukonu Vesturbæjarlaug opnar enn á ný Fjallað um Skjöld Íslands í forsíðugrein stórblaðs Skjálfti fannst í byggð Ólafur orðinn nýr þingflokksformaður Sjálfstæðisflokksins „Erfið stund en mikilvæg“ Kjötsúpu í boði á Hvolsvelli fyrir alla sem vilja Þorgerður á óformlegum fundi ESB Austurland í áfalli, uppstokkun í Valhöll og kjötsúpa fyrir alla Vann fyrir opnum tjöldum hjá bæði saksóknara og PPP Hvirfilbylur við Vatnsleysuströnd Framkvæmdir við Fjallaböðin í fullum gangi Leggja til breytingar á gatnamótum í kjölfar banaslyss Náðu fullum þrýstingi í nótt Drengurinn fannst heill á húfi Kjúklingaræktandi fær á baukinn en MAST líka Guðrún tilnefnir Ólaf Adolfsson sem formann þingflokksins Þyrla kölluð úr og ríflega hundrað björgunarsveitarmenn: Leita að týndum tólf ára dreng við Ölfusborgir Guðrún hrókerar í þingflokknum Leita að týndum tólf ára dreng í Ölfusborgum Hildur segir af sér til að forðast átök Samfélagið í molum eftir fráfall ungrar konu: „Við erum enn þá í áfalli“ Háskólinn í stað Hótel Sögu sem heyrir sögunni til Sjá meira
Þyrla kölluð úr og ríflega hundrað björgunarsveitarmenn: Leita að týndum tólf ára dreng við Ölfusborgir