A 22-year-old American, a 32-year-old Belgian and a 27-year-old Dutchman are among the four victims of the crash Thursday of their small plane near Reykjavik, Icelandic authorities confirmed on Monday.
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At the end of a rescue operation which mobilized nearly 1,000 people, the Cessna C172 was found Friday evening at the bottom of Lake Thingvallavatn, east of the capital Reykjavik. The accident also claimed the life of their pilot, a 49-year-old Icelander.
According to a source close to the case and Icelandic media, the American victim is Josh Neuman, an adventure video director who had more than a million subscribers on YouTube.
As for the Belgian victim, it is Nicola Bellavia, also known for his travel images on YouTube and Instagram.
Leaving Thursday from Reykjavík airport for a flight that was to last two hours, the plane was found on Saturday several tens of meters deep. The four bodies could not be located until Sunday evening, using a remote-controlled submarine.
“The bodies are located relatively close, about 300 meters from the plane, at the bottom of the lake,” local police chief Oddur Árnason told AFP.
More than thirty hours of research were necessary to find the plane in Lake Thingvallavatn, near the very touristy Thingvellir National Park.
According to the police, it appears established that the occupants voluntarily left the plane after it fell into the water.
However, the site of the accident is about a kilometer from the shore, in water between 0°C and 1°C where blocks of ice are floating.
The search operation is the largest in Iceland since 2017.