Police investigate boat accident involving Swiss skipper off Norway
Published: Thursday, Aug 29th 2024, 13:50
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Following the fatal accident involving a replica Viking ship off the west coast of Norway, the police have launched an investigation. A police lawyer told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that an investigation had been launched into the case.
The first witnesses have been questioned, but the Swiss skipper has not yet been interviewed. There are no suspects so far, but this could change, he said.
A team of six adventurers led by Swiss skipper and expedition leader Andy Fitze set sail south of the Faroe Islands at the weekend to sail and row the replica Viking boat "Naddoddur" all the way to Norway. They wanted to recreate a Viking sea voyage from a good thousand years ago.
Four Swiss rescued
The newspaper "Verdens Gang" reported that a call for help had been sent out from the ten-metre-long ship on Tuesday evening. However, when lifeboats and a helicopter arrived on the scene, there was talk of a false alarm. According to the report, the replica Viking ship sent out another call for help an hour later, whereupon a large rescue operation was launched.
The open and motorless boat then capsized off the coast of western Norway on Tuesday in stormy seas with high waves. A young woman from the team, who lived in the USA, lost her life. The five other crew members - four Swiss and one Faroese - were rescued by emergency services.
Five meter high waves
The Norwegian Maritime Search and Rescue Association described the conditions at the time of the boat's capsizing as very challenging and published a video of the strong winds and high seas west of the city of Stad. According to the information, the waves were up to five meters high and the wind was up to 40 knots.
As footage from NRK and the Faroese radio station KVF showed, the almost ten-metre-long wooden ship has since been towed by a coastguard vessel to the port of Måløy, around 170 kilometers north of Bergen, where it was brought ashore. According to KVF, a memorial service was held on a jetty in the Faroese town of Tvøroyri, where the boat had started its journey.
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