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154 rescued on sinking ship
24/11/2007 08:52 - (SA)
Buenos Aires - A Canadian cruise ship struck submerged ice off Antarctica and began sinking on Friday, but all 154 people on board, including Americans and Britons, took to lifeboats and were plucked to safety by another cruise liner.
Chilean navy vessels in the area lost sight of the stricken MS Explorer early on Friday evening, hours after the pre-dawn accident near Antarctica's South Shetland Islands, and wreckage indicated it had gone under completely, according to a navy press officer who declined to be identified in accordance with department policy.
The officer said: "Our units in the area aren't seeing anything. The Explorer is not visible any longer."
There only injuries reported among the crew and passengers were minor cases of hypothermia, none serious, although they endured subfreezing temperatures for several hours in bobbing lifeboats before being picked up by a Norwegian vessel.
Military housed survivors
Argentina's coast guard said it had no immediate confirmation of the ship's sinking, and the Canada-based tour operator that owned the boat said it was trying to independently verify the report.
Wearing bright orange suits to protect against the bitter temperatures and a blustery storm, the rescued disembarked on King George Island in Antarctica and were being housed at Chilean and Uruguayan military bases.
Military officials hoped the weather would clear enough to airlift them rescued to Chile's southernmost city of Punta Arenas on Saturday.
The Explorer struck submerged ice and began taking on water through its cracked hull early on Friday, authorities said. Photos released by the Chilean navy showed the ship later lying nearly on its side, surrounded by floating blocks of ice.
Passengers abandon ship
Andrea Salas, an Argentine aboard the Explorer, was quoted as saying passengers felt an initial bump that seemed minor.
"Then we heard the captain announcing that there was another iceberg approaching us and that he was waiting ... for it to pass by," she told Radio Continental in Buenos Aires. "But that didn't happen," and there was a second, larger collision.
"They started pumping water out to keep the ship afloat," said Salas, 38.
Initial reports suggested only a small hole was punched into the hull, but the Argentine navy later said in a statement it observed "significant" damage.
The ship's entire crew, and 91 passengers from more than a dozen nations - including 24 Britons, 17 Dutch, 14 Americans, 12 Canadians and 10 Australians - calmly abandoned ship when the captain's order came and the pumps helped keep it stable for an orderly evacuation, according to the tour operator. The ship also carried nine expedition staff members and a crew of 54.
- AP
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