Massive Iceberg Threatens Greenland Village

A storage tank is seen as an iceberg floats near the Innaarsuit settlement, Greenland July 12, 2018 in this image obtained from social media. Picture taken July 12, 2018. Lucia Ali Nielsen via REUTERS

(Reuters) – An iceberg the size of a hill has drifted close to a tiny village on the western coast of Greenland, causing fear that it could swamp the settlement with a tsunami if it calves.

The iceberg towers over houses on a promontory in the village of Innaarsuit but it is grounded and has not moved overnight, state broadcaster KNR reported.

A danger zone close to the coast has been evacuated and people have been moved further up a steep slope where the settlement lies, a Greenland police spokesman told Reuters.

“We can feel the concern among the residents. We are used to big icebergs, but we haven’t seen such a big one before,” Susanna Eliassen, a member of the village council in Innaarsuit, told KNR.

The government and police are on high alert and have moved a search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter closer to the remote village with about 170 inhabitants.

Last summer, four people died after waves swamped a settlement in northwestern Greenland. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.