Woman dies after falling from mast of historic ship in Galveston

GALVESTON, Texas — A Texas woman died Saturday after falling from a mast on a historic ship docked at Galveston’s seaport museum, authorities said.

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The woman, 58, of Clear Lake, was a volunteer on the tall ship Elissa, the 1877 ship berthed at Pier 22, Port of Galveston officials told The Daily News of Galveston County.

She was wearing a safety harness when she fell about 60 feet, Port of Galveston police chief Kenneth Brown told KTRK-TV.

The fall happened around 12 p.m. CST. and the woman died at the scene, Brown told The Daily News. Her name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

The Elissa’s tallest mast is 99 feet high.

“She was wearing her fall protection harness, and on those harnesses, you’re supposed to have two points of contact as you’re moving from one place to the other,” Brown told the newspaper. “You always keep one connected. You disconnect one and then you connect it elsewhere before you unhook the other one so you can move.

“We’re not sure exactly what happened that she wasn’t double-clipped in,” Brown said. “When she went to move from one location to another, she apparently slipped and fell.”

The Elissa is one of three ships of her kind in the world to still actively sail. More than 40,000 people visit the ship and museum each year, KTRK reported. The Galveston Historical Foundation purchased the ship from a Greek scrapyard in the late 1970s, according to the television station. By 1982, restoration had been completed and the vessel was transformed into a floating museum that was capable of actively sailing.

At about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, the seaport museum was closed, The Daily News reported.

Will Wright, a spokesperson for the Galveston Historical Foundation, told the newspaper that the vessel would be closed for the rest of the weekend.

Brown called the incident “a horrible accident.”

“It’s an accident,” Brown told KPRC-TV. “There’s no foul play. (Just) a tragic accident.”

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