Large iceberg breaks free from glacier in southern Chile

SANTIAGO: A large iceberg broke off the Grey glacier in southern Chile, authorities said on Tuesday, adding that the cause of the rupture was unclear.

Chile’s CONAF forestry service shared photos on social media of the enormous block of blue-white ice, which measured 350 meters (1,148 feet) long by 380 meters (1,247 feet) wide, as it floated free in waters of a glacial lagoon near the southern tip of the South American continent.

Park officials at Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, home to the glacier, said such ruptures were rare and had not occurred since the early 1990s.

Torres del Paine is one of Chile’s most popular tourist attractions, famous for its mountain views and visited by more than 115,000 tourists annually, according to CONAF.