A U.S. citizen has died after a Viking ship replica capsized off Norway’s west coast overnight, according to Norwegian media.
Police reported finding a woman dead in the water close to the vessel, but they did not provide any other details. Five people were rescued following the incident and all six people on board were foreign nationals.
Reports state the victim was an American citizen in her 20s, according to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG).
Newsweek has contacted the Norwegian Police and the rescue services for comment.
Photo of a replica Viking ship. Police said a woman was found dead in the water near a vessel but did not provide any further information about her.
Kirill Shipitsin/Sputnik via AP
The incident occurred approximately 60 miles off Norway’s west coast.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway (JRCC NN) said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Five people have been picked up and are safe and sound.”
“The prevailing weather conditions, as well as the time that has passed, mean that the action now switches to Search for presumed dead. KV Begen is still in the area, and LRS Vest is coordinating further work in the SEAO action.”
The JRCC NN said powerful winds and large waves made the search and rescue operations “difficult.”.
Emergency services deployed Norway’s Coast Guard, vessels, and helicopters to search for the group amid the harsh weather conditions.
The 30-foot open Viking ship, powered solely by sails and oars, sent a Mayday call on Tuesday evening. However, when rescue boats and a helicopter arrived at the scene, the call was deemed a false alarm, according to VG.
An hour later, the ship issued another Mayday call, prompting a large-scale rescue operation. The Norwegian Coast Guard vessel KV Bergen eventually located the boat, as reported by VG.
The five people on board were rescued from a life-raft and were carried to safety by a search and rescue helicopter.
A police spokesperson told VG that they were wearing life jackets at the time of their rescue.
The boat is described as a Viking ship on the expedition’s website.
Henrikke Zachariassen, a spokesperson for a rescue company involved in the search, told VG that conditions in the area on Tuesday evening included waves up to 15 feet high and strong winds.
According to VG, the wooden Viking ship was en route from the Faroe Islands to Ålesund, Norway, when the accident occurred. The passengers were adventurers from the Faroe Islands, Switzerland, and the U.S., attempting a voyage similar to those undertaken by Vikings more than 1,000 years ago.
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