One killed and several injured after replica Viking ship capsizes

A woman has died and five others have been rescued after a replica of a wooden Viking ship capsized off Norway’s west coast overnight, authorities said on Wednesday.

“Five people have been rescued and are safe,” Norwegian emergency services said on X.

The body of a woman was found near the wreck early Wednesday morning, police said in a separate statement. According to Norwegian media, the woman is an American woman in her twenties.

Replicating a Viking-style crossing

Helicopters, rescue boats and several civilian vessels battled high waves and strong winds during the nighttime rescue operations.

According to the daily VG, the 10-metre boat, which has no engine and is powered only by sails and oars, had sent out a distress call on Tuesday evening, but when boats and a helicopter arrived on the scene, it turned out to be a false alarm.

An hour later, the boat sent out another distress call, this time for real, and a major rescue operation was launched about 100 kilometres off the west coast of Norway. The five survivors were airlifted from a lifeboat.

According to VG, the boat had set off from the Faroe Islands for Alesund in Norway. Its passengers were adventurers from the Faroes, Switzerland and the United States who wanted to replicate a crossing similar to that of the Vikings more than a thousand years ago.