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 Titringur í hreppnum vegna lögheimilisflutninga Innlent Stöðugleiki norðlægrar hringrásar skammgóður vermir fyrir Ísland Innlent Sigmundur seinn: „Er þingmaðurinn í salnum?“ Innlent Halla tekur sér frí og vill að karlmenn axli ábyrgð Innlent Gagnrýna lítinn fyrirvara á skipulagi kvennafrídagsins Innlent Kröfur kvennaárs komnar í innheimtu og gjalddaginn fallinn Innlent Engin lausn og ákveðin sjálfsblekking að banna börnum að nota tölvuleiki Innlent Annað safn rænt í Frakklandi um helgina Erlent Verktakar hafi greinilega nóg því þeir kjósi frekar að bíða en lækka Innlent Guðmundur til ráðherra og framkvæmdastjóri HK tekur við Innlent Fleiri fréttir Gagnrýna lítinn fyrirvara á skipulagi kvennafrídagsins „Við finnum fyrir mikilli spennu frá heimsbyggðinni“ Verktakar hafi greinilega nóg því þeir kjósi frekar að bíða en lækka Pallborðið: Stungið höfðinu í sandinn í tuttugu ár Guðmundur til ráðherra og framkvæmdastjóri HK tekur við Sjaldan eins erfitt að kaupa fasteign og konur undirbúa verkfall Titringur í hreppnum vegna lögheimilisflutninga Sigmundur seinn: „Er þingmaðurinn í salnum?“ Halla tekur sér frí og vill að karlmenn axli ábyrgð Embættismenn sitji að hámarki í fjórtán ár og aðstoðarmenn hætti fyrir kosningar Engin lausn og ákveðin sjálfsblekking að banna börnum að nota tölvuleiki Stöðugleiki norðlægrar hringrásar skammgóður vermir fyrir Ísland Kröfur kvennaárs komnar í innheimtu og gjalddaginn fallinn Segir tilvalin íbúðasvæði opnast með Sundabraut Niðurrif hafið á gamla Morgunblaðshúsinu Næstum öllum sagt upp hjá dótturfélagi Play „Ég skoðanakúgaði sjálfa mig í þágu friðar og þæginda félagslega“ Burðardýr fengu þungan dóm fyrir kókaínsmygl Skora á ráðherra og segir skjaldborg slegið um vændiskaupendur Fresta fundi til tíu í fyrramálið Stórskemmtilegur innhringjandi og óhefðbundin útför Viðgerð muni taka einhverja mánuði „Afar ólíklegt“ að Nadine taki slaginn í borginni fyrir Miðflokkinn Grunuð um íkveikju í Nettó, Nytjamarkaðnum og eigin húsi Segir borgina refsa foreldrum til að mæta rekstrarvanda Aflýsa verkfalli öðru sinni Umferðarslys á Fagradal og veginum lokað Segir sorglega illa hafa verið haldið á hagsmunum flugsins Umferðarteppa í Ártúnsbrekku vegna aftanákeyrslu Bein útsending: Verndum vatnið 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 Titringur í hreppnum vegna lögheimilisflutninga Innlent Stöðugleiki norðlægrar hringrásar skammgóður vermir fyrir Ísland Innlent Sigmundur seinn: „Er þingmaðurinn í salnum?“ Innlent Halla tekur sér frí og vill að karlmenn axli ábyrgð Innlent Gagnrýna lítinn fyrirvara á skipulagi kvennafrídagsins Innlent Kröfur kvennaárs komnar í innheimtu og gjalddaginn fallinn Innlent Engin lausn og ákveðin sjálfsblekking að banna börnum að nota tölvuleiki Innlent Annað safn rænt í Frakklandi um helgina Erlent Verktakar hafi greinilega nóg því þeir kjósi frekar að bíða en lækka Innlent Guðmundur til ráðherra og framkvæmdastjóri HK tekur við Innlent Fleiri fréttir Gagnrýna lítinn fyrirvara á skipulagi kvennafrídagsins „Við finnum fyrir mikilli spennu frá heimsbyggðinni“ Verktakar hafi greinilega nóg því þeir kjósi frekar að bíða en lækka Pallborðið: Stungið höfðinu í sandinn í tuttugu ár Guðmundur til ráðherra og framkvæmdastjóri HK tekur við Sjaldan eins erfitt að kaupa fasteign og konur undirbúa verkfall Titringur í hreppnum vegna lögheimilisflutninga Sigmundur seinn: „Er þingmaðurinn í salnum?“ Halla tekur sér frí og vill að karlmenn axli ábyrgð Embættismenn sitji að hámarki í fjórtán ár og aðstoðarmenn hætti fyrir kosningar Engin lausn og ákveðin sjálfsblekking að banna börnum að nota tölvuleiki Stöðugleiki norðlægrar hringrásar skammgóður vermir fyrir Ísland Kröfur kvennaárs komnar í innheimtu og gjalddaginn fallinn Segir tilvalin íbúðasvæði opnast með Sundabraut Niðurrif hafið á gamla Morgunblaðshúsinu Næstum öllum sagt upp hjá dótturfélagi Play „Ég skoðanakúgaði sjálfa mig í þágu friðar og þæginda félagslega“ Burðardýr fengu þungan dóm fyrir kókaínsmygl Skora á ráðherra og segir skjaldborg slegið um vændiskaupendur Fresta fundi til tíu í fyrramálið Stórskemmtilegur innhringjandi og óhefðbundin útför Viðgerð muni taka einhverja mánuði „Afar ólíklegt“ að Nadine taki slaginn í borginni fyrir Miðflokkinn Grunuð um íkveikju í Nettó, Nytjamarkaðnum og eigin húsi Segir borgina refsa foreldrum til að mæta rekstrarvanda Aflýsa verkfalli öðru sinni Umferðarslys á Fagradal og veginum lokað Segir sorglega illa hafa verið haldið á hagsmunum flugsins Umferðarteppa í Ártúnsbrekku vegna aftanákeyrslu Bein útsending: Verndum vatnið Sjá meira