A foreign woman in her forties was taken by Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter to the national hospital Landspítali in Reykjavík yesterday after a serious diving accident in the rift Silfra in Þingvellir National Park in southwest Iceland.

Þingvellir. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.

The police were notified of the accident shortly before 1 pm. Police cars and ambulances from Selfoss also arrived at the scene, along with the medical staff of the capital region fire department, Morgunblaðið reports.

According to the police, the woman was at a depth of 12-18 meters when the accident occurred. At first it was considered likely that her diving equipment had suffered a failure but it now appears that human error may have been the cause of the accident.

When the woman was brought up to the surface she was close to losing consciousness but a physician who was at the scene provided her with first aid until the helicopter arrived.

At the hospital the woman underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a recompression chamber. Yesterday evening she was transferred to the ICU and according to the physician on duty her condition was good given the circumstances.

ESA