Cruiseliner Rescue After Iceberg Crash
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More than 150 people have been rescued from lifeboats after they were forced to abandon their sinking cruise ship when it hit an iceberg in the Antartic Ocean.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1614875.jpg Rescue mission in icy waters
The 100 passengers and 54 crew were rescued from the freezing waters close to the South Shetland Islands.
The stricken Explorer has been listing for hours now off the Argentinian coast.
Everybody on board was evacuated on lifeboats, and after enduring temperatures of -5C they were ferried to cruiseship the Nord Norge, which was one of five boats sent to the scene.
Nord Norge captain Arnvid Hansen confirmed that all 154 were now on board his ship.
He told Sky News Online: "Everybody is in a good position. People are cold but there is no hypothermia."
Two crew initially stayed on board to pump out water from the Explorer, which suffered a small rupture in its hull after striking the iceberg.
But the vessel is expected to sink into the 2,000ft depths.
UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Mark Clark said: "The vessel is in a poor way and its listing is getting worse."
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1614803.jpg Ship expected to sink
The passengers - who include four Irish, 14 Americans, 12 Canadians and 10 Australians - are being taken to the port of Ushuaia, on the southern tip of Argentina.
The Explorer is owned and chartered by Canada-based Gap Adventures.
It set out from Ushuaia on November 11 for a 19-day trip through Drake Passage.
The vessel, one of the best-known specialist cruise ships in the world, has run aground before in Antarctica.
She grounded on rocks off Weincke Island in December 1979.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...294031,00.html
