At least one person has died and two others are missing after an ice cave partially collapsed as a group of tourists was visiting a glacier in southern Iceland.

In a statement posted on social media, local police said first responders received a call shortly before 3pm on Sunday. They said a group of about 25 foreign tourists from several nationalities were exploring ice caves at the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier when four people were hit by ice.

Two people were seriously injured, one dying from their injuries at the scene of the accident, another taken by helicopter to a hospital in the capital, reportedly in a stable condition.

A large number of rescuers worked throughout the afternoon and into the evening searching for the two missing people. The operation was paused after dark due to the dangerous conditions but was to resume in the morning, police said.

Icelandic media reported that two helicopters from the country’s coastguard had been dispatched, and ambulances and police had also been called to the scene.

But Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported that efforts to transport equipment and personnel up to the glacier had proven difficult due to the rugged terrain and cutting through the ice was mostly done by hand with chain saws.

Local news site Visir said the group was on an organised ice cave tour and were accompanied by a guide but most people were outside the cave when it collapsed.

The glacier where the incident happened is near the glacial lagoon Jokulsarlon, one of Iceland’s more popular tourist destinations.

The collapse was likely not related to a volcanic eruption in south-east Iceland on Friday, about 300km (185 miles) away from the glacier.

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