Bus freed from mud on Iceland's Kjalveg mountain road, traffic resumes

The Kjalveg mountain road in Iceland is now passable after a bus that had been stuck in mud since the previous day was successfully freed. Efforts to tow the vehicle with off-road jeeps on Thursday yielded little success, but heavy machinery from the Road Administration is believed to have resolved the situation.

The road was closed to all traffic from Hveravellir to Kerlingarfjallavegur while the bus was immobilized, although conditions elsewhere on the route were reportedly adequate for driving. Sveinn Sigurður Kjartansson, owner and guide for Iceland Luxury Tours, encountered the bus during one of his tours, with its front end deep in a mud pit.

Kjartansson captured video footage of the towing attempts, noting that such incidents, while less common now due to improved road conditions, were a daily occurrence in the past. "This just happens, this is Iceland," he told mbl.is, reflecting on the challenges of navigating Iceland's rugged terrain.