– The skipper has not yet been questioned. As of now, no one has been charged in the case, but that may change, says police lawyer Arne Fjeldstad in the West police district to NRK.
Fjeldstad states that they have conducted witness interviews, but do not wish to say anything about what has emerged during the interviews.
Rescue operation
A major rescue operation was launched on Tuesday evening when the vessel sent out a distress signal at Stad. It turned out to be some kind of Viking ship, a replica of an old Faroese wooden boat.
Five of the six on board were rescued from the water, but the sixth – an American woman in her 20s – was missing. Throughout the night, a search was made in the sea.
– In the morning hours, the coast guard ship Bergen located the Viking ship, and at 8.10 the missing woman was found a few hundred meters from the wreck. The woman was taken on board a coast guard ship and declared dead on the spot, police operations manager Morten Rebnord said on Wednesday morning.
The search crews turned around first
The first emergency signal came at 5.45pm on Tuesday afternoon. A nearby civilian boat headed for the distress signal. When the rescue helicopter arrived, they turned back after they had been told that everything was in order.
– At 18.35 the civilian boat reported that they had received a thumbs up from the boat. In addition, a helicopter was hanging above which also reported back that everything seemed to be in order, says duty rescue manager Per Hognaland in the Main Rescue Center to NRK.
However, the ships from the Coast Guard continued on course towards the distress signal, writes Bergens Tidende. A second distress signal was then sent out from the same boat one hour after the first.
Five of the six people were found at 11pm and transported to shore. All of these were safe, according to the Central Rescue Service.
Challenging weather
On Tuesday evening and the night to Wednesday, there was severe weather in the area where the boat capsized. The weather made the search for the boat and the missing woman difficult, according to the police.
There were reports of 4.6 meter high waves and strong gales from the south with wind gusts of 26 meters per second where the capsize occurred.
– But when daylight came, they found the boat relatively quickly, says Coast Guard Chief Lars Lilleng Bergens Tidende.
The overturned boat is moored to the quay in Måløy on Wednesday after being towed by the Coast Guard.
The police write in an update that the boat has been released, and that it is the owner who will be responsible for following it up.
Viking ship expedition
Everyone in the crew is foreign. We are talking about four people from Switzerland, one person from the Faroe Islands, as well as the deceased American woman.
The crew’s goal was to sail and row from the Faroe Islands to Norway. They set sail from the Faroe Islands on Sunday at 3pm. The ship is 30 feet, has no engine and is an open ship with sails.
The expedition has referred to itself as ” The Viking Voyage » and has posted several updates on social media about the trip to Norway. The website states that the planned departure was postponed due to the weather.
#police #investigate #Viking #ship #capsize #adressa.no
2024-08-29 07:08:05
