Couple seen camping atop Twillingate iceberg draw questions, concerns from locals

Residents of Twillingate, N.L., are left with questions after a mystery couple were seen camping on top of an iceberg near the rural town.

Following a tip from a friend, resident and nurse Sarah Rice headed out to the causeway between New World Island and Twillingate on Thursday morning, hoping to snap a shot of apparently strange objects atop the nearby iceberg.

Rice zoomed in with her lens, capturing images of what appeared to be two people with kayaks and a tent on the flat-topped chunk of ice.

"It almost looked like someone had staged a camping scene," Rice said.

In disbelief, Rice questioned whether she'd actually seen what she did, thinking a boat behind the iceberg had created an optical illusion from shore.

Rice moved down the causeway to a closer location and realized she could now see the figures on the iceberg moving.

"We were just shocked," she said. "It is lower to the water … but if you were out there in a boat, it would be several feet over your head if you were trying to get up on this iceberg."

Rice says she's been wondering all day how the intrepid campers scaled the icy wall. She was concerned for their safety, she said.

"I'm all for thrill-seekers," she said, "[but] after seeing icebergs that have foundered and flipped within seconds, [it's] very unsafe for sure."

CBC News has not been able to locate or identify the couple, who seem to have vanished from the berg without a trace.

The local coast guard and a town official both told CBC News the campers have not returned.

Twillingate, located in a part of Newfoundland widely known as Iceberg Alley, draws tourists from around the world to its shores in early summer each year.

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