An American woman has died after a replica Viking ship she was in capsized during a tourist voyage to Norway.
Archeologist Karla Dana, 29, from Florida, has been named as the victim aboard the Naddodur vessel, which launched from the Faroe Islands four days earlier.
Six people were aboard the ship when it encountered rough seas on Tuesday, however only five emerged on a inflatable life raft that was saved by a helicopter.
The boat sent out a distress signal on Tuesday, but a helicopter to the area determined it was a false alarm, Norwegian outlet VG reported.
Around an hour after the initial distress signal was launched, a second alert triggered a larger search of the area – around 60 miles from the Norwegian coast – which found Dana’s body on Wednesday close to where the boat capsized.
An American woman has died after the Viking replica ship Naddoddur (pictured) capsized off the coast of Norway on Tuesday
Archeologist Karla Dana, 29, from Florida, has been named as the victim aboard the Naddodur vessel after her body was found on Wednesday
The exact cause of the capsizing has not been determined, however Norway’s Sea Rescue Society (NSRS) reported stormy conditions, strong winds and large waves as they conducted the rescue operations.
Footage of the rescue mission showed terrifying conditions gripped the North Sea region where the tragedy unfolded, where waves reportedly swelled to over 16 feet.
The five survivors included three men and one woman from Switzerland, and another man from the Faroe Islands, who were airlifted to safety following the tragedy.
None of the survivors suffered injuries but were being treated by crisis teams for psychological damage, reports GlobalNews.
Norwegian media reported that the Viking replica vessel had launched Saturday after bad weather delayed the trip, and the voyage was expected to last up to five days before the ship was trapped in a storm.
In a poster for the trip shared by skipper Andy Fitze on Facebook, the fateful trip was described as an ‘unforgettable event that takes you back to the time of the Vikings.’
Dana reportedly originally hailed from Mexico, and was described as a Viking archeologist
Dana had recently been accepted onto the prestigious Explorer’s Club and was noted for her research in Costa Rica, where she lived with an indigenous tribe and immersed herself in their culture
The replica ship was not fitted with any form of motor, and was steered only by sails and oars to model ancient Faroese traditions
An image released by Norwegian authorities of the sunken Viking ship
In a poster for the trip shared by skipper Andy Fitze on Facebook , the fateful trip was described as an ‘unforgettable event that takes you back to the time of the Vikings’
The replica ship was not fitted with any form of motor, and was steered only by sails and oars to model ancient Faroese traditions.
Bergur Jacobsen, the chairman of the Naddoddur boat club that owned the vessel, told the BBC that the replica ship had previously completed a number of journeys including to Iceland, Shetland and Norway.
Dana had recently been accepted onto the prestigious Explorer’s Club, which counted famous explorers including Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong and Teddy Roosevelt among its members.
She told Issuu.com that she was ‘beside myself with excitement’ to be admitted to the club, and she was notably praised for her ‘rigorous ethnographic field research with the Ngobe indigenous tribe of southern Costa Rica, where she lived with the tribe and studied their actions to preserve their culture.’
Her presence in the North Sea appears to have been linked to the Explorer’s Club, which said she was pursuing a Master’s in Archeology at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland as part of a ‘strategic plan’ with the club.
‘As part of the coursework, she will be participating in archaeological excavations this summer, further enhancing her practical skills and knowledge,’ the club said.
