Ágúst Ingi Kjartansson specializes in mountaineering and is a swiftwater rescue instructor for the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue. He trained in rescuing vehicles from water, swiftwater response, and swiftwater advanced water and rope rescue. He is a member of Björgunarfélag Árborgar— a rescue team based in Selfoss where the focus is on the river, Ölfusá.

This is his story.

There are many times that "giving up" is not an option, both in missions and the community of the volunteering in search and rescue.

Sometimes we are searching on the Ölfusá River in miserable conditions, heavy winds in the cold. But the duty calls and you need to finish what you started. I remember on the 25. December 2015 when the call-out came at 01:00. We had a missing person and the car was spotted right next to the river, with footsteps leading to ledge. The weather was about 8-10 m/s and -7°C. The river was partly frozen so we started the search by foot. Later that night we manage to find a spot on the river to put the boats on. That place was the sewage drain from Selfoss. There the heat from the sewage prevented the banks on the river from freezing. The dry-suits where smelly and the splashes from the river while navigating between the ice sheets instantly froze on the suits.
Also while searching on the Ölfusá River the search can continue for days, and you won't get all the sleep you want between searching. Then you need to suck it up and don't give up as there are not that many that are qualified to operate the motorboat on the river.

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