tourist death

The Icelandic police (Logreglan) are investigating the tragic death of a Chinese couple close to the famous DC-3 plane wreck at Sólheimasandur, south Iceland. The couple was found 150 meters apart. They were on the trail between the parking lot and the plane, which is 7.4 kilometers long.

There is no official announcement for the cause of death yet. I speculate though, that it has to do with the severe weather conditions in the area. During the past week, Iceland has had a massive weather system coming through. Extremely strong and cold winds along with thick snow have also resulted in avalanches in the Westfjords.

The DC-3 plane wreck site has become an Instagram hotspot in recent years. Interestingly, the site is completely unmarked, which kinda makes you wonder how people got there. Apparently though, there was enough traffic to get the landowner to create a parking lot nearby. He also marked a trail with a simple series of small marker posts, and removed vehicle access to the area to save the delicate Icelandic terrain.

The wreck was featured in music videos and movies, (notably Justin Biber’s “I’ll show you“) and has received an incredible amount of attention off the back of being featured on the accounts of influencers and big brands on social media.