Chilling footage has captured the moment a calving glacier sent tourists in Iceland rushing for higher ground on Sunday. Stephen Mantler, who owns and operates the tour company Háfjall, recorded the entire ordeal on his cellphone after ensuring the safety of his own group, which was visiting the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Vatnajökull National Park, located in southeastern Iceland. In the video, massive chunks of ice can be seen falling off the glacier into the water below, causing a great disturbance. Groups of tourists below then begin to scurry towards higher ground, as large waves make their way towards the icy shore. "I could see all of them start to move out of harm's way and their guides also ready to jump into action if necessary, so I kept recording but with a watchful eye on people's movements," the guide told CNN. Although Mantler says "calvings are fairly frequent at this time of the year," he acknowledged that Sunday's event was "extraordinarily large" and much closer to the shore than usual, hence the close call with the sightseers. Thankfully, Mantler told CNN that no tourists were injured — or even dampened — during the incident.<doc-sep>What a rush! A group of tourists in Iceland were left scampering to safety when a large chunk of a nearby glacier suddenly collapsed into the sea, producing a gigantic wave that caught the adventurers by surprise. Members of a tour group visiting the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Vatnajökull National Park on Sunday were forced to run for their lives as the massive wave rushed toward them, The Sun reports. Video footage of the crash – known officially as glacial calving – was captured and shared to Facebook, where it has since been viewed over 150,000 times. TOURIST IN BALI NEARLY SWEPT AWAY BY MASSIVE WAVE IN WILD VIRAL VIDEO According to the videographer, the glacial calving didn’t frighten the tourists — despite their shrieks that can be heard in the now-viral video clip. “They were not scared but rather very excited,” Stephen Mantler, who works the travel company Háfjall, told local media as per News.com.au. According to the Alaska Satellite Facility, which belongs to the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, glacial calving occurs when ice chunks break and fall off the end of a glacier, known as a terminus; the separation effectively creates icebergs. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Mantler described the calving in the Breiðamerkurjökull area as an "extraordinarily large event" that unfolded "closer to the shore than usual,” The Sun reports. Despite the drama, no one was injured in the collapse in the Jökulsárlón lagoon, according to AOL. “Due to the sheer size and proximity it was a bit of a close call but everybody was safe and stayed dry,” a witness said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<doc-sep>Iceland is a wonderland of natural beauty, and it's a big reason millions of people flock there (or at least attempt to) every year. But you may think twice about getting too close to it all once you see what happened to this group of tourists, who were photographing a massive glacier in one of the Nordic country's lagoons this past weekend. While touring the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier from the shoreline of southeast Iceland on Sunday, a group of tourists were forced to quickly flee to higher ground, when a huge chunk of the dense ice collapsed into the water and triggered a massive wave. The whole scene played out seemingly in slow motion at first, as the ice majestically fell into the water. Then, it became abundantly clear just how much water it had displaced -- and quickly -- as giant waves roiled up and toward the onlookers. You can see the group of people in the bottom of the frame screaming and climbing back up from where they came before the wave slammed into the area where they were standing. Fortunately, everyone made it to safety before the wave hit and no one was injured while rapidly scattering. Apparently, they were warned ahead of time about how to react in such a situation. "They were not scared, but rather very excited," said Stephan Mantler, who works for the travel company Háfjall that was showing the group around, according to Iceland Monitor. Glacier calving -- the technical term for when ice breaks or falls off of one -- is a big draw for tourists in Iceland, and Háfjall frequently takes groups to areas where it often occurs. However, this particular incident prompted an Icelandic politician named Ari Trausti Guðmundsson to reiterate the importance of observing safely. “This is a most serious event,” Guðmundsson wrote in post on his party's Facebook page. “One must never sail near a calving glacier, and one must not walk or stay on the shore near the edge of such a glacier.” Wise words to live by, it would seem. h/t Iceland Monitor<doc-sep>
About 14 tourists can be seen running for their lives after a large chunk of ice falls from the glacier and into the water below, causing a large wave. About 14 tourists can be seen running for their lives after a large chunk of ice falls from the glacier and into the water below, causing a large wave.... This takes running for your life to a whole new — and very slippery — level. A large wave caused by a chunk of ice falling off a glacier has been caught on camera in Iceland. The moment the ice breaks off — known as glacier calving — caused a large splash into the water below, but the seconds that followed caused a moment of panic for 14 tourists. After the ice fell into the water, tourists visiting the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, who were accompanied by an expert guide, run to safety as a large wave approaches the shore. The video, which was posted to YouTube on Tuesday, was taken on Sunday. Thankfully, no one was injured during the ordeal, narrowly escaping the set of waves. According to website Iceland Monitor, Stephen Mantler, who works for the travel company Háfjall, captured the footage, admittingsuch large waves are a rare occurrence in the lagoon. “They were not scared but rather very excited,” he remarked of the tourists. Glacier calving is an attraction for tourists in Iceland, and Háfjall frequently takes groups to areas where it often occurs. However, this particular incident prompted Icelandic politician Ari Trausti Guðmundsson to reiterate the importance of observing safely.