One woman died and five other people were rescued after a replica of a Viking ship capsized off Norway's west coast overnight, authorities said Wednesday.

Police said a woman was found dead in the water near the sunken ship, but did not provide any information about her identity or nationality.

Norwegian media said she was an American citizen in her 20s.

"Five people have been picked up and are safe and sound," emergency services wrote on X.

Helicopters, rescue boats and several nearby ships battled high waves and strong winds overnight in the rescue operation.

The 30-foot open Viking ship, powered only with sails and oars, had sent a mayday call earlier in the evening, but when boats and a helicopter arrived at the scene the call was deemed to have been a false alarm, the Verdens Gang (VG) daily said.

An hour later it sent another mayday call, and this time a large rescue operation was launched.

The Norwegian Coast Guard ship KV Bergen ultimately found the boat, VG reported.

The five rescued were winched up by helicopter from a life raft. They were

wearing life jackets when they were picked up, a police spokesperson told VG.

The tragedy happened about 60 miles off of Norway's west coast. Henrikke Zachariassen, a spokesman for a rescue company that assisted in the search,  told VG that there were waves up to 15 feet high and strong winds in the search area on Tuesday evening. A video posted by VG showed a rescue boat navigating choppy seas and rain in the dark.

According to VG, the wooden ship was on its way from the Faroe Islands to Alesund in Norway when the accident happened.

VG said those on board were adventurers from the Faroe Islands, Switzerland and the U.S. attempting a voyage similar to one the Vikings would have done more than 1,000 years ago.

The incident comes just days after a luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, killing British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, along with five other people.

In:
• Shipwreck
• Norway