GALVESTON, Texas — A volunteer died on Saturday after she fell from a mast on the historic tall ship Elissa in Galveston.
The 58-year-old Clear Lake woman has not yet been identified. Port of Galveston Police Chief Kenneth Brown said she was a volunteer working on the ship when she fell approximately 35 feet.
Preliminary reports from Brown said the woman fell about 60 feet, but in a release sent out Sunday, the Port of Galveston corrected it to 35.
No alcohol, drugs or foul play is suspected to be factors in the accident.
It happened at around noon as volunteers were working on the ship at the dock. Brown confirmed that the woman did have a safety harness on when she fell, but that the harness was not attached to the ship. He called it a horrible tragedy.
The boat is managed by the Galveston Historical Foundation, who say it's one of three of its kind in the world to still actively sail.
The 1877 Tall Ship Elissa serves as the Official Tall Ship of Texas, a National Historic Landmark, and "a symbol of the Gulf Coast's historic beginnings as a seaport and active waterfront," the historic foundation says on its website.
The historical foundation bought the ship in 1970 from a Greek scrapyard. The ship's restoration was finished by 1982 and is maintained by volunteer efforts.
The ship's next sailing date was scheduled for April 8.