FREAK TRAGEDY

American Tourist Dead After Viking Ship Replica Sinks Off Norwegian Coast

Six people were aboard the vessel when it capsized off of Norway’s western coast overnight.

An American woman is dead after a replica of a Viking boat capsized off the western coast of Norway overnight, authorities said Wednesday. Five other people aboard the vessel are “safe and sound,” having been able to board an inflatable life raft, from which they were winched up to a helicopter, according to Norwegian emergency services. The woman was found dead in the water underneath the wreck. She was identified as a 29-year-old U.S. citizen named Karla Dana by Norwegian media. The BBC reported that Dana had been an archaeologist specializing in the Viking era who wrote with apprehension about the trip on an online blog. “It’s hard to keep excitement from turning into fear when you see those waves casually tossing around huge modern boats like toys,” she commented. “But there’s a wild beauty in the North Sea, a reminder of nature’s raw power, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this adventure.” Rescuers responding to a distress signal had to battle high winds of up to 40 knots and rough seas to reach the sinking boat, according to Norway’s Sea Rescue Society.