The news portal LOCAL.FO reports that the replica of a 30-foot Viking ship set sail from Tvøroyri in the Faroe Islands for Norway on 24 August. The voyage was originally scheduled to take three to five days and went smoothly until the evening of 27 August. Not far from the Norwegian island of Måløy, the ship got into distress due to rough conditions, whereupon a distress call was made.
A search and rescue operation launched by the Norwegian Hovedredningssentralen (HRS) found five of the six adventurers alive in a life raft after the "Naddoddur" capsized. According to reports, after hours of SAR operations with ships and helicopters, the sixth member of the expedition was found trapped under the capsized ship. However, all help came too late for the 29-year-old archaeologist.
According to the Norwegian sejlmagasinet.no, the other five crew members, who come from Switzerland and the Faroe Islands, were flown to Florø, where they are being cared for by crisis teams. On Wednesday morning, the police announced that they had spoken briefly with the survivors and that proceedings would be initiated.
An international team of six adventurers set off on the expedition in honour of the Viking seafarer Naddodd to "bring the fascinating world of Viking culture and maritime history to life". The start of the adventure trip, originally planned for 17 August, was postponed to 24 August due to poor weather conditions.